Trans-European Networks: Republic of Ireland

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on the construction of the Trans-European Network number 13 linking the UK to the Republic of Ireland.

Stephen Ladyman: The European Commission have invested trans-European network-transport (TEN-T) funds into several projects on Priority Corridor 13. The projects and awards from 2001 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Project  Award (€ million) 
			 2001 A120 Stansted to Braintree road upgrade 5 
			 2002 A120 Stansted to Braintree road upgrade 2.5 
			 2003 A120 Stansted to Braintree road upgrade 5 
			 2004 A120 Stansted to Braintree road upgrade 2.4 
			 2004 A1 Loughbrickland to Beech Hill road upgrade 1.5 
			 2005 A1 Loughbrickland to Beech Hill road upgrade 1 
			 2005 A1/N1 Newry to Dundalk road upgrade 5 
			 2006 A5117 Deeside Park Junction Improvements 2 
		
	
	Future EC funding will be subject to meeting strict TEN-T selection criteria.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid by the average family per week for farm subsidies and other rural support in each of the last three years.

Barry Gardiner: We can estimate the UK consumer cost of the CAP by comparing the difference between UK and world prices for agricultural products and applying that difference to the volume of UK consumption. The estimated UK taxpayer contribution to the CAP includes payment through the EU budget plus the direct cost of co-financed expenditure under Pillar II of the CAP. Note that the UK contributes to the total EU budget and not to its individual components, therefore we have calculated a notional UK contribution to the CAP which takes account of the rebate.
	The following table sets out the combined UK consumer and taxpayer costs of the CAP for the last three years for which estimates are available.
	
		
			   Cost per family of four per week (£) 
			 2002 9.90 
			 2003 10.00 
			 2004 10.40 
		
	
	These estimates exclude the UK taxpayer cost of rural support that is provided outside the CAP either through the EU budget (including Objective I Structural Funds and LEADER+), or through expenditure on UK rural communities programmes. The cost of these programmes is comparatively small and is expected to have a minimal effect on the above estimates; it would not be possible to quantify this effect except at disproportionate cost. Most rural support in the EU is funded through Pillar II of the CAP, and is thus captured in the above estimates.

Agriculture: Wastes

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what material is included within his Department's definition of agricultural waste;
	(2)  what percentage of agricultural waste was  (a) landfilled,  (b) recycled,  (c) re-used and  (d) incinerated in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: Agricultural waste is waste from premises used for agriculture within the meaning of the Agriculture Act 1947 which provides that:
	"Agriculture includes:
	horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming and livestock breeding and keeping, the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds, and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes, and 'agriculture' shall be construed accordingly."
	There is no definitive list of what is or is not agricultural waste. However, agricultural waste can include materials such as discarded pesticide containers, plastics such as silage wrap, bags and sheets, packaging waste, tyres, batteries, clinical waste, old machinery and oil.
	Modelling, carried out by the Environment Agency, based on the DEFRA Agricultural Census, showed that agricultural waste arisings in the UK were estimated to be 544,000 tonnes in 2004. This estimate does not include manure and slurry as these are considered to be important nutrient resources that are applied to land as a fertiliser for the benefit of agriculture.
	Agricultural waste was included as a "controlled waste" only when the Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations (S.I. 2006 No. 937) came into force on 15 May 2006. These applied the same national waste management controls to agricultural waste that have long applied to other sectors of industry. Data on agricultural waste arising and its disposal routes, are, therefore, not yet available.

Biodiversity

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of staff changes at  (a) Monks Wood and  (b) Winfrith Centre for Hydrology and Ecology research stations on (i) the Government's biodiversity programme and (ii) progress towards the 2010 target on biodiversity loss; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Defra contracts with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology generally include a risk assessment and, where relevant, these include an assessment of the risks of staff changes to the success of individual projects. New contracts which span the anticipated period of re-structuring will include such an assessment. The Government have not made a specific assessment of how staff changes at Monks Wood and Winfrith research stations will affect progress towards the 2010 target on biodiversity loss. The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology is one of very many organisations which contribute to achievement of the 2010 target, many of which undergo staff changes and re-structuring from time-to-time.

Departmental Pay

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the pay grades are of staff in his Department; how many staff earn  (a) under £20,000,  (b) £20,000 to £29,999,  (c) £30,000 to £39,999,  (d) £40,000 to £49,999,  (e) £50,000 to £59,999,  (f) £60,000 to £69,999,  (g) £70,000 to £79,999,  (h) £80,000 to £89,999 and  (i) above £90,000 per annum; how many and what percentage of staff in each band received performance related bonuses in 2005-06; and what the average award received by staff was in each band.

Barry Gardiner: Two separate sets of pay grades operate in the core-Department (covering core-DEFRA, State Veterinary Service, Pesticides and Safety Directorate, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Marine Fisheries Agency and Government Decontamination Service) for staff in the senior civil service (SCS) and for staff at grade 6 and below.
	Separate pay and grading arrangements operate for staff at grade 6 and below in those Executive agencies who operate delegated pay arrangements i.e. Central Science Laboratory, Centre for Environment, Food and Aquaculture Science, Rural Payments Agency and Veterinary Laboratories Agency.
	 SCS
	The SCS have three separate pay grades:
	Pay band 1
	Pay band 2
	Pay band 3
	Pay band 3 is the highest pay grade in the SCS.
	 Grade 6 and below
	There are nine separate pay grades at grade 6 and below, with both national and London pay ranges for each.
	Pay Range A— Administrative Assistant
	Pay Range B—Administrative Officer
	Pay Range C—Executive Officer
	Pay Range D—Higher Executive Officer
	Pay Range E—Fast Stream
	Pay Range F—Senior Executive Officer
	Pay Range G—Veterinary Officer
	Pay Range H—Grade 7
	Pay Range J—Grade 6
	The following table shows the current distributionof staff salaries and average bonus information for 2005-06 within the range of salaries requested.
	
		
			  Annual salary  Number of staff  Average bonus (£) 
			  (a) under £20,000 1,889 469 
			  (b) £20,000 to £29,999 3,303 658 
			  (c) £30,000 to £39,999 1,182 900 
			  (d) £40,000 to £49,999 688 1,106 
			  (e) £50,000 to £59,999 485 1,481 
			  (f) £60,000 to £69,999 158 2,664 
			  (g) £70,000 to £79,999 58 4,840 
			  (h) £80,000 to £89,999 18 6,674 
			  (i) above £90,000 29 6,027 
		
	
	The number of staff at grade 6 and below who received a bonus was 3,373 and this represents 44 per cent. of staff in this group. The number of SCS staff who received a bonus was 148 and this represents74 per cent. of SCS staff.
	A further breakdown of these figures cannot be produced for staff confidentiality reasons.

Departments: Complaints

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints were received by his Department and its executive agencies in  (a) 1997-98,  (b) 2001-02 and (c) 2005-06; and how many have been received in 2006-07 to date.

Barry Gardiner: Complaints handling in the Department is not centralised. Information on the number of complaints received by the Department is not collected or collated.
	The number of complaints that were received by Defra Executive Agencies is as follows:
	
		
			Number 
			  (a) 1997-98 (1)n/a 
			  (b) 2001-02 (2)32 
			  (c) 2005-06 (3)671 
			  (d) 2006-07(4) (5)578 
			 (1) Defra was not established until 2001 (2) Of which 11 were to the Rural Payments Agency with a customer base of 75,000. (3) Of which 487 were to the Rural Payments Agency with a customer base of 120,000. (4) To date. (5) Of which 426 were to the Rural Payments Agency with a customer base of 120,000

Departments: Complaints

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how manystaff worked in dedicated complaints units in his Department and its executive agencies in  (a) 1997-98,  (b) 2001-02 and  (c) 2005-06; and how many have done so in 2006-07 to date.

Barry Gardiner: The number of staff who worked in dedicated complaints units in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and its executive agencies is as follows:
	
		
			Core Defra  Executive agencies RPA only( 1) 
			  (a) 1997-98 n/a(2) — 
			  (b) 2001-02 Three part time(3) 6 
			  (c) 2005-06 Two full time(4) 15 
			  (d) 2006-07(5) Two full time(4) 23 
			 (1) Rural Payments Agency staff working in a dedicated customer relations unit, dealing with written complaints, official correspondence, appeals and telephone complaints. No other Defra Executive Agencies have dedicated complaints units. (2) Defra was not established until 2001. (3) Staff working on staff complaints arising from equal opportunity and related issues. (4) One working on staff complaints and related issues, one working on complaints pursued through the ombudsman. (5) To date.

Energy: Conservation

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to co-ordinate across Government the automatic turning off of electrical equipment in Government offices when that equipment is not being used.

Ian Pearson: Each Department has agreed to meet sustainable operations targets for the Government Estate on energy efficiency and carbon emissions. Departments are responsible for determining how they can best be achieved within their offices. Departments are also required to work with the Carbon Trust to identify energy savings and, to purchase electrical equipment that meets standards defined in the "Quick-wins" list, which include requirements on power consumption in sleep-mode.
	DFES currently have a system in place for its offices which automatically turns off computer base units at pre-set times we are currently investigating the use of a tool to automatically shut down inactive computers at night and will share our information with other Government departments.
	Departmental performance against central Government estate targets, including carbon emissions and energy efficiency, is scrutinised in annual reports by the Sustainable Development Commission, the independent watchdog. The last Report is available at: http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/watchdog

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many Higher Level Stewardship Scheme applications were  (a) received and  (b) approved by (i) English Nature in each month from 2004 until the transfer of the scheme to Natural England and (ii) by Natural England since its inception; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The first Higher Level Stewardship agreements commenced on 1 February 2006 and were administered by the Rural Development Service (RDS) rather than English Nature. The environmental land management functions of the Rural Development Service then transferred, on 1 October 2006, to form part of Natural England.
	The Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) scheme accepts applications on a quarterly rather than monthly basis. The following table sets out applications received and approved by both the RDS and Natural England during the quarterly time frames the hon. Member refers to.
	
		
			  Quarterly cycle date  Applications received  Applications approved 
			  Rural Development Service   
			 February 2006 322 287 
			 May 2006 304 269 
			 August 2006 319 387 
			
			  Natural England   
			 November 2006 357 588 
			 February 2007 114 385 
		
	
	The data contained in the table is a snapshot. As such, it will be subject to future change as Natural England finalises HLS processing. This particularly applies to the February 2007 agreements. There are still a number of cases to be finalised between applicants and Natural England, and figures will change accordingly.

Farmers: Income

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the annual change in revenues was in the  (a) farming and  (b) dairy farming sectors in each of the last five years.

Barry Gardiner: The average output for farm businesses by farm type for the past five years in England is set out in table 1 as follows. The average change in output between these five years is set out in table 2. Farm business output is defined as the total livestock enterprise output plus total crops enterprise output plus adjustment for previous years crops plus miscellaneous output plus output from diversified activities plus sundry revenue plus single payment.
	
		
			  Table 1: Farm business output by farm type, England 2001-02 to 2005-06 
			  £ per farm 
			  March/February  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Dairy 171,000 153,900 164,100 167,000 170,900 
			 Grazing livestock (less favoured area) 73,900 79,100 69,200 66,100 64,800 
			 Grazing livestock (lowland) 61,000 75,700 69,500 60,200 55,900 
			 Cereals 135,700 144,900 197,300 177,700 175,600 
			 General Cropping 229,300 235,800 275,000 290,500 249,500 
			 Specialist Pigs 292,300 247,700 287,400 305,500 281,800 
			 Specialist Poultry 296,000 425,400 521,000 540,000 557,500 
			 Mixed 166,400 164,600 185,700 167,500 176,800 
			 Horticulture 255,700 243,000 313,400 294,800 313,700 
			 All farm types 155,900 159,400 186,900 180,300 180,100 
			  Source: Farm business survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Percentage change in farm business output by farm type, England 2000-01 to 2005-06 
			   Percentage change from previous year 
			  March/February  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Dairy 21 -10 7 2 2 
			 Grazing livestock (less favoured area) 14 7 -12 -4 -2 
			 Grazing livestock (lowland) 14 24 -8 -13 -7 
			 Cereals 9 7 36 -10 -1 
			 General Cropping 5 3 17 6 -14 
			 Specialist Pigs 8 -15 16 6 -8 
			 Specialist Poultry 11 44 22 4 3 
			 Mixed 3 -1 13 -10 6 
			 Horticulture 16 -5 29 -6 6 
			 All farm types 14 2 17 -4 0 
			  Source: Farm business survey

Farmers: Income

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the annual average incomes of dairy farmers in  (a) England and  (b) Lancashire in each of the last five years.

Barry Gardiner: The average net farm income for dairy farm businesses in Lancashire and England for the past five years is set out in table 1 as follows. Net farm income is defined as the return to the principal farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour and on the tenant type capital of the business.
	
		
			  Average net farm income on dairy farm businesses in Lancashire and England, 2001-02 to 2005-06 
			  £ per farm 
			   Lancashire  England 
			 2001-02(1) 32,700 30,900 
			 2002-03 15,100 16,400 
			 2003-04 16,200 23,600 
			 2004-05 16,600 26,400 
			 2005-06 13,300 27,100 
			 (1) Excluding farms subjected to compulsory foot and mouth disease cull.  Source: Farm Business Survey

Flood Control

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account he has taken of any increase in the number of homes assessed to be at significant risk of flooding when determining funding for flood defences in 2006-07.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency (EA) is the principal operating authority with responsibility for managing flood risk in England and undertakes an annual National Flood Risk Assessment. The 2004 assessment (NaFRA 2004) identified 1.9 million domestic and commercial properties at risk of flooding in England, with 285,000 being at significant risk (defined as a probability of flooding in any one year greater than 1.3 per cent. or one in 75). NaFRA 2005 identified 2.1 million properties at risk of flooding with 517,000 being at significant risk. The results from NaFRA 2006 will be published shortly—indicative results suggest a similar number of properties at risk of flooding, but a slightly lower number at significant risk compared to 2005.
	This estimation is a complex process and, although techniques are developing rapidly from research to operational methodology, they are not yet able to track real annual changes in flood risk on the ground. Any changes between annual assessments are almost entirely due to changes in data and analysis techniques. An improvement in the 2005 assessment was that the number of houses in the 'no data' category was significantly reduced from the 2004 assessment to less than 1 per cent. of the total. This inevitably added properties to each of the identified risk bands.
	Funding for flood risk management has increased significantly in recent years and the Department remains on target to achieve the spending review 2004 target of improving the standard of protection for at least 100,000 households over the period 2005-06to 2007-08. The NaFRA estimates are one factor informing spend on flood risk management within the overall departmental funding allocation set in the 2004 spending review up to 2007-08.

Flood Control

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect on flood risk of recent changes in the level of capital funding available for local government and Internal Drainage Board flood defence projects in 2006-07.

Ian Pearson: Local authorities and internal drainage boards are currently forecasting to spend £12.7 million of DEFRA grant on capital flood risk improvement projects in 2006-07. This excludes local authority spend on coast protection projects which also often provide significant benefits in terms of reducing flooding from the sea.
	The original allocation of £15.7 million has, therefore, been reduced by £3 million which has been transferred to the Environment Agency's capital flood risk budget. There has been no overall reduction in capital spend on flood risk management as a result. No specific assessment of the impact of this transfer has been made, but overall flood risk management should not be adversely affected.

Flood Control: Expenditure

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the increases required in flood defence expenditure to meet the effects of climate change over the next  (a) 10 and  (b) 50 years; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Government's 2004 Foresight Future Flooding report estimated that average annual flood damages could increase by between two and20 times by the end of the century. This takes into account the likely effects of climate change and increased development and economic wealth. However, changes will be highly dependent on the actual impact of climate change and sea level rise, patterns of growth, development and future flood risk management activity.
	Effective flood risk management remains a priority for the Government and we have increased funding significantly in recent years. Overall departmental funding in future years, of which spending on flood risk management is a large part, is being considered in the 2007 comprehensive spending review and we continue to work with the Environment Agency in preparation for this.

Landfill: Milton Keynes

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much waste was disposed of at Newton Longville landfill site in the last 12 months from areas other than Milton Keynes; and from which local authority areas that waste originated.

Ben Bradshaw: The Environment Agency holds records of the amount of waste disposed of at Newton Longville landfill site. The data, based on landfill operator returns for 2006, is as follows:
	
		
			  Area  Tonnes of waste 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,866 
			 Northamptonshire 3,123 
			 Buckinghamshire 303,880 
			 Milton Keynes 2,305 
			 Hertfordshire 8,519 
			 Bedfordshire 85,696 
			 Hampshire 23 
			 Essex 46 
			 Surrey 194 
			 Greater London 16,401 
			 East London Waste 419 
			 West London Waste 899 
			 Total 425,371 
		
	
	The total from areas other than Milton Keynes is 423,066 tonnes.

Radioactive Waste Management

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from which organisations he has sought advice on technical and security aspects of radioactive waste disposal as a part of taking forward the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management's recommendations.

Ian Pearson: With the devolved Administrations,we are working through the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Implementation Planning Group to prepare a public consultation on the framework for implementing geological disposal.
	The group is chaired by Defra, and other relevant parts of Government are represented—the Department of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Communities and Local Government, Her Majesty's Treasury. The group also has representatives from the devolved Administrations, regulators (notably the Health and Safety Executive and the environment agencies), and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
	As well as seeking advice from representatives of this group, their agencies and others (including the Office for Civil Nuclear Security), advice has been sought from other interested parties including the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management and the Local Government Association's Nuclear Legacy Advisory Forum. We are also proposing the creation of a national expert group and an independent peer review panel to develop and assess geological criteria proposals.
	We aim to publicly consult on the framework for implementing geological disposal later this year.

Rural Areas: EC Grants and Loans

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU rural development budget.

Barry Gardiner: In December 2005, the European Council agreement on future financing for 2007-13 fixed the amounts for the EU rural development budget. This was set at €69.75 billion for the seven year period, through Council Decision 493 of 2006. The EU rural development budget allocations for each member state (including price adjustments) were confirmed in Commission Decision 636 of 2006. The UK receives approximately €1.9 billion, of which €1 billion will be allocated to England.
	However, the total size of the rural development budget cannot be confirmed at this stage. Any decisions about national exchequer co-financing willbe made once the EU regulation governing the use of voluntary modulation has been adopted.

Severn Barrage: Nature Conservation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on flora and fauna in the Severn estuary of the installation of the Severn Barrage.

Barry Gardiner: The Severn Estuary is a Special Protection Area (SPA), which is protected underthe Habitats Regulations 1994. An Appropriate Assessment under the Habitats Regulations, and an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) under the EIA Directive would be needed for any plan or project likely to have a significant effect on the site. These assessments would be carried out by the developer in the context of their specific proposal.
	A UK project on tidal power, which includes a review of Severn Estuary proposals, is being led by the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC). The project aims to address the role of tidal power in a low carbon electricity system. The SDC has commissioned evidence-based reports, including reviews of Severn barrage and non-barrage proposals, to look at the expected economic, social and environmental impacts of options to harness tidal power. The SDC intends to publish its final report and the individual evidence-based reports in the summer of 2007.
	Natural England has also carried out research on potential impacts on flora and fauna in the Severn Estuary of the installation of a Severn barrage.

Water Charges

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to assist lower income households in receipt of income related benefits in paying water bills;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to increase the take-up by eligible lower income households of Government-sponsored measures aimed at assisting them in paying water bills.

Ian Pearson: A cross-Government steering group was set up to review the way in which lower income households are helped with their water and sewerage charges. Ministers' decisions following the review are set out in the Cross-Government Review of Water Affordability Report, which was published in December 2004. In line with the review's recommendations:
	(i) the Vulnerable Group's Regulations were extended in 2005 to increase eligibility;
	(ii) DEFRA, Ofwat and the Consumer Council for Water have been working with water companies on measures to increase take-up of the Vulnerable Groups Scheme;
	(iii) a pilot study currently under way in the South West is looking at the combined impacts of several measures on water affordability, including benefit entitlement checks, meter installation and water efficiency measures. We expect the results of the pilot study in summer 2007; and
	(iv) the Government, Ofwat and water companies are co-operating to investigate the likely distributional consequences of alternative tariffs, especially for those on lower incomes.

Crop Substitution (South America)

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to support the encouragement of crop substitution among South American coca growing communities.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is supporting an initiative in Yungas in Bolivia to develop community tourism among coca-growing communities. This initiative is expected to produce useful lessons for crop diversification schemes elsewhere in the Andes, including illicit coca growing areas.

Darfur

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: The humanitarian situation in Darfur is extremely fragile. Thanks to the extraordinaryefforts of UN and humanitarian agencies, the four million people dependent on aid in the region have been helped. Worsening security and attacks on humanitarian workers have however, made this increasingly difficult to sustain.
	I am sure the House will wish to condemn the continuing violence against both civilians and humanitarian workers in Darfur and call on all sides to stop, to accept the AU/UN peacekeeping force, and to restart negotiations.

Darfur

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: The humanitarian situation in Darfur is extremely fragile. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of UN and humanitarian agencies, the 4 million people dependent on aid in the region have been helped. Worsening security and attacks on humanitarian workers have however, made this increasingly difficult to sustain.
	I am sure the House will wish to condemn the continuing violence against both civilians and humanitarian workers in Darfur and call on all sides to stop, to accept the AU / UN peacekeeping force, and to restart negotiations.

Zimbabwe

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.

Hilary Benn: Despite good rains last year, about1 million Zimbabweans are reliant on international food aid as the next harvest approaches. Early indications suggest significant failure of this year's crop in southern Zimbabwe. An independent assessment is expected to be undertaken from April, to examinethe scale of forthcoming food shortage. Many Zimbabweans will face difficulty accessing food because of the dire economic situation, resulting from the policies of their Government. DFID will spend£33 million in 2006-07 to tackle food insecurity and HIV/AIDS, including a £3 million contribution to the World Food Programme's activities in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development What recent discussionshe has had with leaders in southern Africa on the humanitarian situation of the people of Zimbabwe and their aid requirements.

Hilary Benn: The Government take every opportunity to raise the situation in Zimbabwe with others. We continue to urge South Africa, both as a neighbour of Zimbabwe, and also as a strong voice in the South African Development Community (SADC), to work with SADC partners to address the crisis in Zimbabwe. DFID officials have regular contact with counterparts in the region to alert them of the worsening crisis in Zimbabwe.

Climate Change: Bangladesh

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to assist Bangladesh in tackling climate change.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is providing £115 million over five years to support portable, sustainable livelihoods for people living in areas most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change—increasing sea levels, flooding, coastal salinity and drought.
	DFID is working with the Bangladesh Government to reduce risks and develop a climate change action plan. In addition, DFID is improving the resilienceof infrastructure—for example by installing taller electricity poles, raising tube wells and homesteads, reinforcing road embankments and enhancing plans for water transportation.
	DFID will prioritise further research to better forecast large scale migration caused by climate change.

British Aid

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what mechanisms he uses to assess the effectiveness of British aid; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID uses a comprehensive set of mechanisms to assess the effectiveness and impact of British aid. Bilateral projects and country programmes are reviewed annually for their contribution to international development goals, against country objectives, corporate targets and international commitments on aid effectiveness.

Education (Developing Countries)

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development What his Department's policy is on the promotion of education in developing countries.

Hilary Benn: DFID is committed to achieving the millennium development goals on education, of universal primary education and gender equality in primary and secondary education by 2015.
	The Government will spend some £8.5 billion over the next 10 years in support of education in developing countries. This long-term commitment will help developing countries prepare and implement 10-year education sector plans to achieve the education goals. Our funds will support investment in schools, the recruitment and training of teachers, get more boys and girls into and completing school and improve the quality of education.

Child Trafficking

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to prevent children being trafficked into the UK.

Gareth Thomas: Poverty creates the conditions in which children are vulnerable to trafficking. DFID's purpose is to support long-term programmes to help eliminate the underlying causes of poverty, including lack of education for children as well as lack of livelihood opportunities and social security for their families. Getting children into school is key to protecting them from trafficking and improving their life chances. DFID is committed to ensuring all children receive primary education and has a commitment to spend over £8.5 billion to support education over the next10 years. DFID is also a major supporter of UNICEF and non-governmental organisations working for children's rights and protection.

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Because of the devastation Afghanistan suffered through decades of conflict up to 2001, it is currently off-track on all the millennium development goals (MDGs). The Afghan Government therefore decided to set itself a revised target of 2020 to meet the MDGs, and the country has made significant progress since 2001. Economic growth is strong and legalGDP increased by almost 85 per cent. in real terms between 2002-03 and 2005-06. School enrolment has quadrupled in the last four years. Nearly 6 million Afghan children are now in school: a third of them girls. Over 13,000 primary and secondary schools have been reconstructed, and some 1.2 million illiterate people are participating in literacy courses. Since 2001 the number of functioning health clinics has increased by 60 per cent., and the immunisation of over 16 million children against childhood diseases has saved around 35,000 lives. Afghanistan has one of the highest incidences of tuberculosis in the world, but the proportion of cases detected and cured increased from almost zero in 2000 to nearly 25 per cent. in 2005.
	DFID's programme in Afghanistan is focused on state-building, economic management, and improving livelihoods. Over 70 per cent. of our aid goes directly to the Government of Afghanistan to support its own development priorities in pursuit of the MDGs. The vision for achieving the revised 2020 targets is set outin the interim Afghanistan National Development Strategy.

Africa: HIV Infection

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what progress has been made on Gleneagles targets for treating HIV/AIDS in Africa; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of progress towards meeting the Gleneagles targets for treating HIV/AIDS in Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Significant progress has been made towards the goal of Universal Access to Anti-Retroviral (ARV) treatment worldwide by 2010, signed up to by leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) countries in July 2005.
	In sub-Saharan Africa between 2003 and 2006, the numbers on treatment rose tenfold from 100,000 to over 1 million. This is equivalent to 23 per cent. of those needing treatment. The number of health locations offering treatment has grown from 3 to 110 in Zambia and from 3 to 60 in Malawi over the past two years. Treatment averted an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 premature deaths in developing countries in 2005.
	In Abuja, Nigeria, in May 2006, African leaders made commitments to strengthen practical leadership and mobilize resources to realise the goal of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care. In June 2006, world leaders reaffirmed their commitment to Universal Access at the UN High-level Meeting on AIDS. They agreed to set in 2006, through inclusive, transparent processes, ambitious national targets, including interim targets for 2008 that reflect the urgent need to scale up significantly towards the goal of universal access.
	In Eastern and Southern Africa, 14 countries—70 per cent.—have established targets or will do so by end 2006. In West and Central Africa, 17 countries have set targets, 13 have devised roadmaps and six have annual workplans which have been costed.

Developing Countries: Sexual Offences

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to tackle sexual violence in  (a) the Democratic Republic of Congo,  (b) Uganda and  (c) Pakistan; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), we are supporting humanitarian agencies to provide medical assistance to victims of sexual violence, particularly in Eastern DRC, including funding the Norwegian NGO Christian Relief Network to support Panzi hospital (South Kivu) in constructing and running a 100 bed wing specialised for treating women suffering from fistula—which is one of the most serious and devastating consequences of sexual violence. Their programme includes outreach to encourage women to seek medical support and psychological support for patients, as well as medical treatment. We are also continuing our support to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has extended its programme of medical and psychological support to victims of sexual violence in North and South Kivu. The UK will be spending more than £35 million this financial year on humanitarian and health service delivery projects in the DRC through the UN and NGOs and many of these contain an element of assistance to victims of sexual violence.
	It is also vital to tackle the underlying causes of sexual violence, particularly conflict and impunity. Conflict reduction is a major focus of the UK's work in the DRC, and at a local level in Eastern DRC we support NGOs who are promoting dialogue and peace building work between communities previously in conflict. DFID is also funding training of justice sector workers and the police on gender and sexual violence and children's rights. We are also making a £2 million contribution to a major project in Eastern DRC to restore the justice system so it is able to address the most serious crimes. We are working with the Government and other donors to develop a long term programme of justice reform.
	In Uganda we support NGOs working to change attitude and behaviour on domestic violence and undertaking local and national advocacy for new laws on domestic relations and sexual offences. We have committed £117,000 over three years to the Centre for Domestic Violence and Prevention to help communities and civil society organisations to end domestic violence. We are also providing £180,000 for three years to MUFUMI Human Right Defenders Network which is working on similar issues.
	In the last two years in northern Uganda we have provided £1.6 million to UNICEF to work with women and young people on issues around protection and sexual violence in camps for internally displaced people. This year we have also provided £240,000 to Save the Children Fund for similar activities.
	In Pakistan, DFID committed £6 million to the UNDP Gender Support Programme in December 2006. The programme supports the Government of Pakistan in reducing poverty in Pakistan by enabling women, especially the poor, to participate more equally in economic, public and domestic life. £2 million of DFID's contribution will be used to establish a Gender, Justice and Protection Fund, with the specific aim of supporting joint government and civil society efforts to tackle violence against women.
	DFID has also committed £3.5 million, to the Gender and Education Policy Support Project (GEPSP), a joint initiative with the Government of Pakistan and UNICEF to generate better understanding of security concerns and to strengthen capacity to do something about them. Security is critical to female participation in education. Good practice includes locating schools within reasonable distances (primary but also middle and secondary schools once girls have reached puberty), promoting safe access to schools for girls and female teachers (e.g. via travel allowances and school buses), building boundary walls (and in some cases providing security guards), enforcing the ban on corporal punishment and developing a culture among teachers where this is not seen as necessary.
	The DFID-funded Gender Support Project which came to an end in 2006 supported 57 projects aimed at women's empowerment. 10 of these focused on the issue of violence against women. An example is a project aimed at ending violence against women inthe southern part of North West Frontier Province through legal empowerment. The project focused on raising awareness among young people of the issue of violence against women, and providing legal aid and skills to women.

Iraq: Asylum

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contingency plans have been agreed with the Governments of  (a) the United States,  (b) Syria and  (c) Jordan in order to address the problems created by the influx of large numbers of Iraqi refugees into countries neighbouring Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: We are in close touch with our partners and agencies about the situation regarding displaced Iraqis inside Iraq and in the region.
	While we acknowledge that the influx of refugeeshas put pressure on national provision of services in countries including Syria and Jordan, and there are certainly needs in small border camps, the degree to which neighbouring countries require significant emergency assistance is not yet evident.
	Despite the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) recent appeal (which incorporates contingency planning), UNHCR is still in the process of making investigations both into the caseload and priority needs of refugees. Needs assessments are currently being undertaken by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other organisations. These will provide a clearer picture of how best to respond.
	A meeting of international partners, includingthe US, UN agencies, representatives from regional governments and donor representatives will take place in Geneva this week to discuss the caseload of refugees in the region and agree the best ways to respond. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, in liaison with other humanitarian partners.

Iraq: Overseas Aid

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what further consideration his Department has given to contributing to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees $60 million appeal to help displaced Iraqis; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has limited access in Iraq owing to the poor security situation, and only provides support to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in six out of Iraq's 18 governorates. We have therefore made a contribution to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who are able to work nationwide through the Iraqi Red Crescent Society. This support includes emergency assistance including shelter, food and non-food items, as well as supporting hospitals by providing war wounded kits and other essential materials. They also run community projects to enhance the capability of local service provision, such as infrastructure repairs and water and sanitation projects.
	We may yet contribute to UNHCR's appeal to support Iraqis who have been displaced in the region. We are currently in discussions with UNHCR and international partners on the precise caseload and their needs.

Iraq: Overseas Aid

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what response the UK has made to the UNHCR's January 2007 Iraq Situation Supplementary Appeal; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has limited access in Iraq owing to the poor security situation, and only provides support to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in six out of Iraq's 18 governorates. We have therefore made a contribution to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who are able to work nationwide through the Iraqi Red Crescent Society. This support includes emergency assistance including shelter, food and non-food items, as well as supporting hospitals by providing war wounded kits and other essential materials. They also run community projects to enhance the capability of local service provision, such as infrastructure repairs and water and sanitation projects.
	We may yet contribute to UNHCR's appeal to support Iraqis who have been displaced in the region. We are currently in discussions with UNHCR and international partners on the precise caseload and their needs.

Iraq: Reconstruction

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much he has allocated to the provision of security by private contractors for those implementing reconstruction, humanitarian and community relations programmes in Iraq; and what proportion of total expenditure on such programmes provision for security represents.

Hilary Benn: For the period March 2003 to February 2007, DFID spent £390 million on reconstructionand humanitarian assistance to Iraq. Of this total, £38.2 million was spent on the provision of security by private contractors, representing almost 10 per cent. of overall spend.
	We keep this security expenditure as low as we reasonably can. But without this, we would not beable to do the vitally important reconstruction and humanitarian work which we have been doing in Iraq. We have a duty to protect the very dedicated teamsof staff who work in Iraq in extremely difficult circumstances.

Middle East

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development What the priorities of his Department are in Palestine, Israel and neighbouring countries.

Hilary Benn: Since Hamas entered governmentin March 2006, DFID's priority in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) has been to support Palestinian basic needs through the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM). Through the TIM, DFID has provided £12million for Palestinian front line health services, allowances to the poorest government workers and for essential operation, maintenance and repair work for water, sanitation and electricity services.
	DFID does not maintain bilateral aid programmes with any of the countries surrounding the oPt which are middle income, including Israel. This allows DFID to better target scarce resources towards the poorest and most fragile countries.

Overseas Aid: Education

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of his Department's spending on educational programmes is undertaken through international institutions.

Gareth Thomas: Around 39 per cent. of DFID's budget is channelled through international and multilateral organisations, part of this goes towards education.The total amount of funding through multilateral organisations is published in the document 'Statistics on International Development', copies of which are available in the Library. The proportion of this funding which is spent on education varies from institutionto institution and from year to year. The following table outlines funding through major international institutions relevant to education.
	
		
			  Total DFID expenditure on the funding of selected multilateral organisations 
			  £ million 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Multilateral organisation  
			 European Community 730 871 1,031 951 917 
			 International Development Association 214 221 381 204 271 
			 UNICEF 18 20 18 24 32 
			 UNESCO 3 3 3 3 3 
			 African Development Fund 29 33 32 35 34 
			 Asian Development Fund 27 26 24 22 19 
		
	
	In addition we channel substantial funds through civil society organisations, part of which goes towards education.

Sudan: Asylum

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what UK aid has been allocated to refugees from Darfur in Chad.

Hilary Benn: In 2006-07 DFID has allocated£4 million to relief programmes in Chad. These funds have been used to provide aid to Darfuri refugees and local internally displaced people in Eastern Chad and to refugees from the Central African Republic in Southern Chad.

Departments: Appeals

David Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many independent bodies existed to hear appeals on decisions made by her Department and its Executive agencies in  (a) 1997-98,  (b) 2001-02 and  (c) 2005-06; and how many there have been in 2006-07 to date.

Vera Baird: A range of independent bodies and offices, including the courts, can hear appeals on decisions made by my Department and its Executive agencies. The following table lists those bodies and offices, the type of appeals they hear and the date of establishment.
	
		
			  Name of organisation or office  Hears complaints and appeals in relation to:  Complaints and appeals from:  Information break down 
			 Claims Management Services Tribunal This body hears appeals against decisions taken by DCA. The Lord Chancellor acts as the sector regulator Claims management companies The CMST has been in place from February 2007 
			 
			 Adjudicator to HM Land Registry Land Registry Any Yes, from February 2004. Established in October 2003 
			 
			 Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman All Government Departments including DCA: the Land Registry; Her Majesty's Courts Service; and the Public Guardianship Office Any Information is not held by DCA. Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration established by Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967; Health Service Commissioner established by Health Service Commissioners Act 1993 
			 
			 Pensions Ombudsman Pension providers including those in the public sector. The DCA is responsible for judicial pensions policy The judiciary Not available but unaware of any judicial pension case referred to the Pensions Ombudsman. Established on 1 April 1991 
			 
			 The Adjudicator Public Guardianship Office (plus a small group of other public bodies and Departments) Any Established in 1993 
			 
			 The Information Commissioner All public authorities and bodies which have to comply with the Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection Act Any Established in 2001. 2005-06 to date 
			 
			 Independent Complaints Reviewer The Land Registry and the National Archives (plus a small group of other public bodies) Any 2000-01 to date. Established on 16 February 1998 
			 
			 Administrative Court The court hears judicial reviews against public bodies and persons including statutory appeals and challenges against decisions of Ministers given by certain statutes Individuals and organisations Across all time periods mentioned. Established on 2 October 2000 
			 
			 Costs Judges of the Supreme Court Costs Office (to hear appeals on fee decisions made by HMCS staff) Her Majesty's Courts Service Barristers/Solicitors working on criminal legal aid in the Crown court Her Majesty's Courts Service was launched on 1 April 2005 
			 
			 Civil Service Commissioners All Government Departments Individual civil servants Information is not held by DCA. First established in 1855 
			 
			 Employment Tribunal All employers including the public sector The judiciary and civil servants All. Established on 1 April 1997 
			 
			 Security Vetting Appeals Panel All Government Departments Public sector staff and contractors All. Established in 1997 
			 
			 Civil Service Appeal Board All Government Departments Individual civil servants All. Established in 1971 
			 
			 Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information All public sector bodies Individuals and organisations The National Archives (TNA) from October 2006 to date. OPSI 2003 to October 2006 (merger with TNA). Established on 14 April 2003 
			 
			 Appellate Committee of the House of Lords All decision-making bodies including the DCA and her Executive agencies Any (via Court of Appeal) Established in 1812

Departments: Pay

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of  (a) staff pay in her Department compared to equivalent grades in other departments and  (b) the likely effect of the new pay system on this situation.

Vera Baird: DCA monitor salary levels relativeto other Government Departments through the mechanism of the Cabinet Office Pay Club through which we are able to compare detailed data across other Departments.
	We are currently undertaking a pay and grading review. The intention is to introduce the new arrangements from 1 August 2007 which will make us more competitive in the employment market. After detailed discussions last year, HM Treasury agreed a four year pay remit from 2007-11 with average annual increases to the remit of 3.7 per cent.

Departments: Pay

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will assess the effect of the introduction of performance related pay for staff in her Department on the operation of the judicial system.

Vera Baird: An element of performance related pay has been in place for a number of years in DCA (and the Courts Service). However, staff who joined the DCA under TUPE on amalgamation with the magistrates courts service on 1 April 2005 have not been subject to performance related pay in the past.
	The introduction of performance related pay across the DCA is intended to motivate and reward staff for their performance and thereby to reinforce a cultureof high performance within the Department. In this context we anticipate this will contribute to the effectiveness of the DCA in our support of the judicial system.

Legal Aid Scheme

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many legal aid firms her Department has listed since 2003.

Vera Baird: The number of legal aid firms holding contracts with the Legal Services Commission as at31 March each year is as follows:
	
		
			  Criminal Civil(1) 
			 2003 2,900 5,061 
			 2004 2,669 4,715 
			 2005 2,643 4,430 
			 2006 2,608 4,101 
			 (1)This includes private practice firms and not-for-profit agencies

Armed Forces: Driving

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK military personnel were qualifiedto drive minibuses in 1997; how many are currently qualified; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 14 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1257W.

Armed Forces: EC Institutions

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK military personnel were deployed to  (a) EU military missions and  (b) administrative functions within EU institutions on1 January 2007; and how many personnel were deployed at each location.

Des Browne: holding answer 27 February 2007
	On 1 January 2007, there were 600 UK military personnel deployed to EUFOR Althea, the EU military mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This included 30 military personnel in Sarajevo and 570 military personnel in Banja Luka. EUFOR Althea was the only EU military mission active on this date.
	16 UK military personnel were working within EU institutions in Brussels, Belgium. This includes military personnel within the EU Military Staff and the European Defence Agency.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what  (a) fatalities and  (b) serious injuries have been sustained by occupants of Pinsgauer Vector vehicles in occupational use; and what the positions of the persons involved were within the vehicle;
	(2)  whether any Pinsgauer Vector vehicle has been hit by  (a) mine or  (b) improvised explosive device; what damage was sustained; and whether the vehicle was written off.

Adam Ingram: Vector is currently being deliveredto the Army; and will be deployed to Afghanistan imminently. Therefore it has not yet been subject to attack on operations.

Courts Martial

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review army discipline rules, regulations and procedures following the acquittal of Colonel Jorge Mendonça; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I am unable to make a statement or comment substantially at this time on Colonel Mendonça's acquittal as to do so could be prejudicial to the ongoing court-martial in the case of Payne and others. I would remind my hon. Friend however that in February 2005 the then Chief of the General Staff announced what was, and is, to be a wide-ranging review that would involve extensive consultation, both within and beyond the Army and the Ministry of Defence. The review is looking at three main strands: doctrine (particularly the preparation of personnelfor all tasks and scenarios they may face); secondly, officer and non-commissioned officer training and performance; and the disciplinary system. The review will also examine issues surrounding recent and current investigations into individual training. We said in 2005 that we will publish our findings when we are no longer constrained by legal process.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Defence what his most recent estimate is of the proportion of total public expenditure represented by the amount of the additional costs incurred by the conflicts in  (a) Iraq in each year since 2002-03 and  (b) Afghanistan in each year since 2001-02; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: MOD identifies the costs of operations in terms of the net additional costs it has incurred. The costs that the Department would have incurred regardless of the operation taking place, such as wages and salaries, are not included. Savings on activities that have not occurred because of the operation—training exercises for example—are taken into account in arriving at the net figures.
	The annual audited figures for the costs of operations in Iraq for the years 2002-03 to 2005-06 and Afghanistan for the years 2001-02 to 2005-06 and the proposed provision for 2007-08, which will be voted on by Parliament in March, are in the following table.
	
		
			   Operation  Net additional operational costs (£ million)  Public expenditure (Taken from table 1.1 of the public expenditure statistical analyses 2006) (£ million) 
			 2001-02 Afghanistan 221 389,557 
			 
			 2002-03 Afghanistan 311 421,265 
			  Iraq 847  
			 
			 2003-04 Afghanistan 46 457,553 
			  Iraq 1,311  
			 
			 2004-05 Afghanistan 67 490,992 
			  Iraq 910  
			 
			 200-06 Afghanistan 199 490,992 
			  Iraq 958  
			 
			 2006-07 Afghanistan (1)770 (1)523,152 
			  Iraq (1)1,002  
			 (1) Forecast 
		
	
	Costs for total public expenditure for 2001-02 to 2006-07 have been taken from the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2006.

Nuclear Weapons

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advice he has received on the public consultation on the White Paper The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent.

Des Browne: holding answer 26 February 2007
	I am fully engaged in the public and parliamentary debate following the publication of the White Paper last year. I have participated in a wide range of discussions, have made a comprehensive speech at King's College, London and provided wide-ranging evidence to the Defence Committee. Up to 23 February, I had also received some 700 written representations.

Selly Oak Hospital

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel there are working in the military-managed ward at Selly Oak hospital; and what their roles are.

Derek Twigg: There are now 18 qualified military nurses in the Military Managed Ward (MMW), plus five military health care assistants allocated to it. A military surgical consultant has been appointed as the military trauma patient co-ordinator.
	The 18 military nurses include four military managers who are involved at every level on the MMW. The Military Ward Manager is responsible for all aspects of the military presence on the ward, whether staffer patient issues. The Military Ward Manager is assisted by three Military Deputy Ward Managers who are responsible for the planning and delivery of patient care to both military and civilian patients. Military nursing staff will now be on duty on every shift on the ward, including the night shift. There are, and will remain, civilian nursing personnel on the ward.
	The military surgical consultant liaises with colleagues to provide advice on service issues and ensures that military aspects of their treatment are taken into account. There are 12 military consultants based at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, and wherever it is clinically appropriate and practicable military patients are allocated to one of them.

Selly Oak Hospital

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities are provided for injured service personnel treated in the military-managed ward at Selly Oak hospital.

Derek Twigg: The Military Managed Ward (MMW), located in the main body of Selly Oak hospital (which is the primary reception hospital for service casualties from operations overseas), reached initial operating capability just before Christmas 2006. It provides clinical care, by a combined team of military and civilian personnel, for military patients whose clinical condition allows for them to be nursed in this ward. There are military managers involved at every level on the MMW, with a Military Ward Manager responsible for all aspects of the military presence on the ward, whether staff or patient issues, and for liaising with appropriate authorities. The MMW Ward Manager is assisted by three Military Deputy Ward Managers who are responsible for the planning and delivery of patient care to both military and civilian patients, although they primarily focus on military activity. An enhanced military nursing structure is in place for this ward, comprising military nurses and military health care assistants, and military nursing staff are on duty on every shift on the ward.
	Wherever possible, military patients are allocated to one of the 12 military consultants who work at RCDM, although by far the largest proportion of specialist care is provided by NHS consultant staff, which reflects the range and capabilities of the knowledge, skills and resources the NHS makes available to our patients. Each military patient in the Birmingham area now has a named military nurse whom he or she can contact at any time on clinical and other issues, and a military nurse team member visits every military patient being treated at a Birmingham hospital three times a day. This is in addition to the work of the Defence Medical Welfare Service (now reinforced by the Army Welfare Service), who visit patients regularly, and each deployed task force provides military liaison officers on the ward.
	Community psychiatric support to our patientshas also increased, and there are now two full-time Community Psychiatric Nurses in post at Selly Oak.
	Furthermore, additional funding has been provided to help meet the travel and accommodation costs of patients' families who need to travel to Selly Oak. Transport and drivers have been made available from HQ5 Div resources to enable the transfer of patients and dependents between railheads, accommodation and the various hospital locations. Six rooms have been allocated in the Alexander Wing at Selly Oak for relatives of service personnel who are listed "Very Seriously Ill" (VSI) or "Seriously Ill" (SI), where relatives can stay whilst visiting a patient. These rooms are provided free, and (depending on availability) may also be used by families/relatives of non-VSI/SI listed patients. The Alexander Wing has Wi-Fi connectivity and six laptops have been provided from HQ5 Div resources to enable internet access for visitors and patients.

Trident

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much military-grade  (a) plutonium and  (b) enriched uranium the UK has produced in the last five years; what level of production is required for the existing Trident missile programme; what additional amounts of each type of military-grade material willbe produced by the proposed UK nuclear power development programme; how much of each type of military-grade material is expected to be required following the proposed replacement of the Trident missile programme; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: On 18 April 1995 the Foreign Secretary announced that the UK had ceased the production of fissile material for explosive purposes. This voluntary moratorium stands and there are no plans tochange this. Work continues in the Conference on Disarmament to promote the early negotiation and agreement of a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty to bind countries into ceasing production altogether of fissile material for weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the police have received evidence of members of the Tamil community in the UK being intimidated by representatives of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in order to raise funds for that organisation; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is responsible for the day to day operational management of the Metropolitan Police Service. I understand that his office have already written to you in response, and I shall place a copy of his letter in the House of Common Library.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he defines binge drinking; what assessment he has made of the impact of binge drinking on crime levels; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 27 February 2007
	The Government follows the Department of Health's definition of binge drinking, which is drinking more than double the daily recommended limit of three-four units for men and two-three for women in a single session.
	The most recent assessment the Home Office has made of the impact of binge drinking on crime is from the 2003 Offending, Crime and Justice survey on alcohol-related crime and disorder which defined binge drinking as "feeling very drunk at least once a month". This survey identified 44 per cent. of young adults (18-24 year olds) as binge drinkers. Among this age group, 27 per cent. of binge drinkers admitted that they had committed an offence in the past 12 months. The Home Office no longer uses the definition of binge drinking that was used in this report and now follows the Department of Health's guidelines. The Offending, Crime and Justice survey is currently under review and a decision is yet to be made on whether or not it will be continued.
	According to the 2005-06 British Crime survey published on 20 July 2006, victims believed the offender or offenders to be under the influence of alcohol in 44 per cent. of all violent incidents, approximately the same level as for 2004-05. The offender was judged to be under the influence of alcohol in 54 per cent. of incidents of stranger violence, a decrease from 60 per cent. in 2004-05.

Antisocial Behaviour

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether funding allocated to local authorities for respect zones will be ring-fenced specific grants;
	(2)  what additional obligations and responsibilities will be placed on local authorities with respect zones;
	(3)  for how long local authorities will be funded centrally if they are given respect zone status;
	(4)  on what criteria funding will be allocated to local authorities for respect zones.

Tony McNulty: Respect areas will have access toup to £125,000 from the Department for Education and Skills specifically to help improve parenting programmes linked to tackling anti social behaviour. Areas are required to commit to action on:
	a family intervention project that challenges and changes the behaviour of the most problematic households;
	a significant increase in the availability of parenting programmes for families at risk of/or behaving antisocially;
	greater openness and accountability for action to local communities through Face the People sessions;
	a renewed commitment to using the full range of available tools and powers to tackle antisocial behaviour; and
	promoting the Respect housing management standard to ensure a consistent, responsive service from landlords for all social housing tenants.
	Funding is currently being agreed to the end of March 2008. Decisions on subsequent years have yet to be taken.

Asylum

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of Statefor the Home Department pursuant to the answer of5 February 2007,  Official Report, column 695W, on asylum seekers, how many asylum seekers will be dispersed and to which boroughs.

Liam Byrne: It is not possible to indicate at this stage how many failed asylum seekers supported under section four of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 will be moved out of the Greater London area. This will depend on the outcome of a review of each case to identify whether there are circumstances that mean that the provision of accommodation in London remains appropriate.
	Where a move away from London is arranged the preferred option will be to provide accommodation in the region where the individual was previously dispersed. Where this is not possible failed asylum seekers will be dispersed to regions in accordance with the normal criteria for the allocation of cases between regions. Decisions on where to place those accommodated within a particular region will take account of regional strategic co-ordination arrangements.

Asylum: Iraq

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unsuccessful Iraqi asylum seekers have been granted Humanitarian Protection since April 2003.

Liam Byrne: There were 10 grants of humanitarian protection at initial decision to Iraqi principal asylum applicants between April 2003 and September 2006 (figure rounded to the nearest 5).
	Information on initial decisions is published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Bokhari Family

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he took to ensure that his decision to deport the Bokhari family of Grimsby was communicated to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby once his Office had learnt that the hon. Member's Grimsby office was closed.

Liam Byrne: I wrote to my hon. Friend on20 February 2007 with the information requested.

Community Policing: Liverpool

Jane Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers working with Merseyside police within the Liverpool city council boundary are funded by  (a) Home Office resources,  (b) Neighbourhood Renewal Fund resources,  (c) New Deal for Communities resources and  (d) local authority resources.

Vernon Coaker: This information is not collected centrally.
	The Home Office is providing £5.6 million from the Neighbourhood Policing Fund (NPF) and £1.4 million in other PCSO funding to Merseyside in 2006-07. This funding will assist the force in reaching its target of466 PCSOs by April 2007. All forces are encouraged to seek funding from a variety of sources including their local community safety partners to meet the costs of police community support officers (PCSOs). Police community support officers play a key role within neighbourhood policing teams in improving community safety. Community safety and the reduction of crime and disorder in all of our communities can only be achieved through effective local partnerships which include the police service and a range of others including the local authority, housing providers, and representatives of the voluntary and community sectors.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of22 December 2006 on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers scheme (Home Office reference: M30604/06).

Liam Byrne: holding answer 26 January 2007
	I wrote to my hon. Friend on 17 January 2007.

Crime

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of crime rates in  (a) high and  (b) low income communities in (i) the most recent period for which figures are available and (ii) 1996-97; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The most recent figures published from the British Crime Survey (BCS) relate to interviews carried out in 2005-06. Figures are not published for "low income communities", but as a proxy, figures are provided by ACORN category (A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods) which groups households according to the demographic, employment and housing characteristics of the surrounding area. Figures are also provided for crime types (burglary, vehicle crime, criminal damage and violence) by household income for 2005-06, as another proxy measure.
	The 1998 BCS measured crime occurring in 1997 which is the nearest appropriate source of data for the 1996-97 period mentioned. Figures are provided for crime types (burglary, vehicle crime and violence) by ACORN and household income.
	Figures for the 1998 and 2005-06 BCS can be found in the following tables.
	
		
			  Proportion of households/adults victims of crime types by ACORN category, 2005-06 BCS—England and Wales 
			  ACORN category (based on 2001 census) 
			   Percentage victims once or more 
			   Hard pressed  Moderate means  Comfortably off  Urban prosperity  Wealthy achievers 
			 All burglary 4 3 2 3 2 
			 All vehicle theft 9 10 7 10 5 
			 All criminal damage 8 10 8 8 6 
			 All violence 5 4 3 4 2 
			 Theft from the person 1 1 1 2 1 
			  Source: 2005-06 British Crime Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Proportion of households/adults victims of crime types by ACORN category, 1998 BCS —England and Wales 
			  ACORN category (based on 1991 census) 
			   Percentage victims once or more 
			   Striving  Aspiring  Settling  Rising  Expanding  Thriving 
			 All burglary 9.2 6.0 5.3 7.9 4.0 3.8 
			 All vehicle theft 22.9 18.2 16.8 19.1 18.0 14.2 
			 All violence 6.6 5.1 4.6 6.4 4.5 3.5 
			  Source: 1998 British Crime Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Proportion of households/adults victims of crime types by household income, 2005-06 BCS—England and Wales 
			  Household income 
			   Percentage victims once or more 
			   Less than £5,000  £5,000 less than £10,000  £10,000 less than £20,000  £20,000 less than £30,000  £30,000 or more 
			 All burglary 4.1 2.5 2.3 2.1 2.4 
			 All vehicle theft 6.2 6.0 6.1 7.8 9.0 
			 All criminal damage 5.9 5.5 8.1 9.5 9.2 
			 All violence 3.1 2.6 2.8 3.2 3.3 
			  Source: 2005-06 British Crime Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Proportion of households/adults victims of crime types by household income, 1998 BCS—England and Wales 
			  Household income 
			   Percentage victims once or more 
			   Less than £5,000  £5,000 less than £10,000  £10,000 less than £20,000  £20,000 less than £30,000  £30,000 or more 
			 All burglary 8.3 5.8 5.3 4.6 5.0 
			 All vehicle theft 14.2 11.9 14.5 17.2 18.8 
			 All violence 6.6 2.9 4.1 4.7 5.1 
			  Source: 1998 British Crime Survey

Crime: Alcoholic Drinks

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of alcohol-related crime in each police force area in England and Wales in the last period for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: This information is not routinely collected. The only previous estimate of the costs of alcohol-related crime was produced by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit in support of the government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy and published in the associated consultation document. The costs for 2001-02 were estimated at up to £7.3 billion. No breakdown by police force area was provided.

Departmental Pay

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which civil servant in his Department was paid the highest bonus payment in 2006; how many civil servants in his Department received bonus payments in 2006; and what the total cost was of bonus payments to officials in his Department in 2006.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 26 January 2007
	It is not policy to comment on pay arrangements for individual employees within the Department. However, the highest paid bonus was £15,000 and this was in line with the arrangements set out by the Senior Salaries Review Board, 28th Report, dated March 2006. Set out in the table is the number of performance related bonuses paid to employees together with the total costs for staff within the Home Office, excluding Prison Service and Identity Passport Service.
	
		
			  Home Office: bonus summary( 1) 
			   Amount paid (£)  Number paid 
			 Senior Civil Servants 1,071,118 158 
			 Civil Servants 2,426,908 4,643 
			 Total 3,498,026 4,801 
			 (1 )The bonus payments in the table relate to the annual employee performance review for 2005-06 and were paid in 2006-07.

Deportation: Convictions

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals have been  (a) arrested,  (b) prosecuted and  (c) convicted of offences relating to the breach of an exclusion order issued as a consequence of the facilitated release scheme for foreign national prisoners in each of the last 12 months, broken down by country of origin.

Liam Byrne: There is no facilitated release scheme operated by the Department. The facilitated returns scheme which was introduced in October last year in order to help more foreign national prisoners to return voluntarily to their own country.
	The Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February 2007. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library of the House and it contains details of the facilitated return scheme.

Foreigners: Custodial Treatment

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what guidance he has issuedto the Immigration and Nationality Directorate since1 January 2007 on the detention of illegal immigrants or convicted foreign nationals in prisons;
	(2)  whether illegal immigrants who have not been convicted of a crime in the UK are held in prisons in England and Wales;
	(3)  whether failed asylum seekers are held in prisons prior to deportation.

Liam Byrne: The routine use of prisons to hold immigration detainees ended in January 2002. However, it was made clear that there would continue to be a need to hold small numbers of individual detainees in prison for reasons of security and control. That remains the case and may apply to both failed asylum seekers and other immigration offenders. In addition, individual foreign nationals who have been convicted for criminal offences in the United Kingdom may be held in prison accommodation pending deportation or transfer to the immigration detention estate on release from their prison sentences. No specific guidance has been issued but the Home Secretary has instructed the Immigration and Nationality Directorate to work closely with the National Offender Management Service and HM Prison Service.

Highly Skilled Migrant Programme

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent changes to the highly skilled migrant programme on people who had been granted leave under the previous rules; and what estimate he has made of the numbers of people who will not be able to extend this leave.

Liam Byrne: People who were granted leave underthe immigration rules relating to the highly skilled migrant programme (HSMP) which were in force before 8 November 2006 and make applications for further leave to remain under HSMP on or after that date will have their applications considered against the requirements of paragraph 135D of the immigration rules (HC 395, as amended) as it is currently drafted. We anticipate that most of these people who are economically active in the United Kingdom will be able to extend their leave under the revised immigration rules, to succeed under the transitional arrangements for self-employed people, or to switch into work permit employment. We will be evaluating the impact of the changes.

Homicide

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murders have been committed in 2007 in  (a) England,  (b) Greater London,  (c) the London borough of Havering and  (d) Romford.

Tony McNulty: Latest available data relate to offences currently recorded as homicide and were published on 25 January 2007 in "Homicides, Firearm Offencesand Intimate Violence 2005-06" (HOSB 02/07). Throughout chapter one homicide offences are shown according to the year in which the police initially recorded the crime as homicide, which is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made.
	As of 9 October 2006, there were 725 offences currently recorded as homicide in England during the financial year 2005-06, of which 175 were recorded by the Metropolitan Police Service. Data from the Homicide Index cannot be broken down to a more local level. Full data for 2006-07 are expected to be published in early 2008.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost was of employing temporary staff in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: Total expenditure on staff employed through employment agencies by IND is shown in the following table. IND also employs casual staff but expenditure is not recorded separately. Information for prior years by Directorate is not available.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 29,365,441 
			 2005-06(1) 28,568,740 
			 (1 )This figure updates the provisional figure given in answer to the question tabled by Jeremy Browne MP (18 April 2006) 59912.

Missing Persons

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what requirements there are on police forces to record data on reports of missing children;
	(2)  what his plans are for the enhancement of the Police National Missing Persons Bureau.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 19 February 2007
	Guidance on the "Management, Recording and Investigation of Missing Persons Cases" published by the National Centre for Policing Excellence in 2005 on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), states that information on missing persons reported to the police should be placed centrallyon the Police National Computer unless exceptional circumstances apply. The Police National Missing Persons Bureau are sent data from forces on persons missing for more than 14 days, or less, if the case is considered urgent.
	The Home Office/ACPO Missing Persons Strategic Oversight Group will be working with the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) on enhancing the role of the bureau and the potential transfer of the bureau's national function from the Metropolitan Police Service to the NPIA once the NPIA becomes fully operational. The enhanced bureau will look to maintain a comprehensive data base of missing persons and provide operational support for police forces.

Norfolk Constabulary: Finance

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the grant change for Norfolk Constabulary is for financial year 2007-08.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is set out in the table.
	
		
			  Norfolk police authority funding 2006-07 to 2007-08 
			   2006-07( 3)  2007-08 
			 General government grant(1) (£ million) 80.5 83.4 
			 Annual change in general government grants (Percentage) — 3.6 
			
			 Total specific grants and capital provision(2) (£ million) 21.4 23.1 
			 Annual change in specific grants and capital provision (Percentage) — 7.9 
			
			 Total government grants (£ million) 101.9 106.5 
			 Annual change in total government grants (Percentage) — 4.5 
			 (1) General grant comprises of Home Office Police Grant and DCLG Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates. (2) Specific Grants and capital provision includes: The Crime Fighting Fund, Basic Command Unit Fund, Neighbourhood Policing Fund, Community Support Officer Funding, Special Formula Grant, Pensions Deficit Grant, Dedicated Security Posts and Capital provision. (3) An extra capital payment of £287,000 will be paid on 12 March 2007 for 2006-07 as announced on 19 February 2007.

Operation White Dollar

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps were taken to ensure full compliance with international human rights standards by  (a) all seconded UK officers from the Seriousand Organised Crime Agency,  (b) the US Drugs Enforcement Agency and  (c) the Colombian Department of Administrative Security during operation White Dollar.

Vernon Coaker: Operation White Dollar took place during 2004. The Serious Organised Crime Agency came into being on 1 April 2006. SOCA's co-operation with all overseas law enforcement partners is conducted in compliance with relevant UK law.

Personation

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has considered ways in which his Department can help combat fraud and identity theft by publicising measures that use thumbprints to verify transactions.

Joan Ryan: We recognise that thumbprints, fingerprints and other biometrics have an important role to play in verifying identity in a range of circumstances.
	The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has completed the roll out of the new ePassport, which contains a facial biometric stored on the chip. IPS will also pilot the addition of fingerprints in passports, in line with international moves to incorporate biometrics in travel documents. Other examples include the fingerprinting of visa applicants and asylum seekers. IPS intentions in using biometrics to deliver the National Identity Scheme were set out in the Strategic Action Plan published in December 2006. Copies of the plan are available in the House Libraries.
	More widely, in July 2006, the Chancellor appointed Sir James Crosby to lead the Public Private Forum on Identity Management. The Forum's remit includes reviewing the current and emerging use of assuranceof identity in the public and private sectors, the identification of best practice, and considering how technology can be harnessed to maximise efficiency and effectiveness. The Forum will report to the Chancellor in the spring.

Police

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department issues to police services on the use of uniformed police officers to perform administrative or other tasks in operation rooms.

Tony McNulty: The deployment of police officersis a matter for Chief Officers of Police. HO Circular 105/1988 invited Chief Officers and police authorities to review the scope for the use of police staff and identified control room operators and operations room duties among those suitable for police staff.

Police National Computer

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Metropolitan police last conducted an audit of data on the Police National Computer; and what percentage of that data was found to be inaccurate.

Tony McNulty: This is a matter for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Police: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much total Government grant was given to police forces in  (a) England and  (b) Wales in each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07, broken down by police authority; and what the per capita allocation was in each case.

Tony McNulty: Government funding for police authorities is chiefly allocated using a funding formula that provides an assessment of the relative need of each police force in England and Wales. This assessment is based on the social characteristics of each police authority which are considered to affect the level of demand for police services in the community.
	The police funding formula was reviewed in consultation with the Police Service in 2005 and a revised formula was implemented for the 2006-07 settlement. This revision incorporated more recent data from the 2001 census, changes in the structure of policing, and more up to date analysis of how the characteristics of different areas affects policing demands. To avoid large changes in grant resulting from this revision, each police authority was guaranteed an increase in formula grant of at least 3.1 per cent. in 2006-07.
	Funding is not, and never has been, distributed on a per capita basis.
	The information requested is set out in the tables.
	
		
			  £ 
			   1997-98  1998-99( 1)  1999-2000  2000-01 
			  Force  Total grants( 5)  Funding per head of population  Total grants( 5)  Funding per head of population  Total grants( 5)  Funding per head of population  Total grants( 5)  Funding per head of population 
			 Avon and Somerset 138,313,499 94.88 142,121,594 96.95 144,263,871 97.68 150,782,484 101.51 
			 Bedfordshire 52,283,671 95.29 53,145,176 96.07 52,702,281 94.21 55,612,617 98.67 
			 Cambridgeshire 58,452,244 84.06 61,395,347 87.60 63,618,434 90.35 66,794,515 94.34 
			 Cheshire 86,964,255 88.76 89,514,514 91.16 93,843,499 95.72 98,652,612 100.45 
			 Cleveland 68,543,675 123.93 73,598,816 132.97 74,586,908 134.86 77,906,156 140.68 
			 Cumbria 51,689,610 105.88 52,464,445 107.28 53,440,848 109.48 56,073,285 115.00 
			 Derbyshire 84,853,897 89.12 88,041,981 92.09 90,982,525 94.84 92,359,712 95.94 
			 Devon and Cornwall 135,697,854 88.29 145,068,610 94.00 149,183,156 96.05 156,036,306 99.48 
			 Dorset 55,448,924 81.40 58,601,947 85.61 60,965,465 88.96 60,362,656 87.40 
			 Durham 65,945,940 110.33 71,495,623 119.92 74,876,145 126.00 78,566,735 132.43 
			 Essex 133,369,705 84.48 133,628,889 84.22 137,836,631 86.29 148,052,355 92.10 
			 Gloucestershire 51,572,923 92.54 52,613,493 94.68 52,768,508 94.06 54,572,664 96.66 
			 Hampshire 152,982,748 87.51 161,609,885 92.02 165,342,031 93.59 172,706,143 97.41 
			 Hertfordshire 77,681,507 76.94 79,191,900 77.91 84,999,665 83.01 97,231,293 94.42 
			 Humberside 96,807,934 110.23 101,341,017 115.60 101,119,245 115.57 106,325,716 121.67 
			 Kent 149,025,763 96.43 154,856,411 99.77 156,955,629 100.41 165,902,676 105.46 
			 Lancashire 149,068,267 105.60 156,042,176 110.46 158,100,067 112.06 168,816,934 119.38 
			 Leicestershire 85,229,718 92.87 86,435,805 94.31 89,652,784 97.34 93,112,380 100.82 
			 Lincolnshire 54,057,200 87.03 52,034,033 83.12 54,591,457 86.28 58,693,284 91.68 
			 Norfolk 70,426,457 90.93 71,355,039 91.38 70,980,156 90.25 75,400,183 95.02 
			 Northamptonshire 52,720,386 86.48 54,617,185 88.75 55,917,769 90.08 59,368,168 94.91 
			 North Yorkshire 62,426,875 85.47 66,306,104 90.29 66,218,968 89.59 67,540,019 90.69 
			 Nottinghamshire 109,452,993 107.34 112,196,885 110.15 117,699,362 115.55 120,209,021 118.30 
			 Staffordshire 100,411,686 95.77 99,766,037 95.10 100,199,909 95.63 102,359,273 97.81 
			 Suffolk 53,633,797 81.26 55,854,253 84.11 58,717,827 87.99 61,692,503 91.74 
			 Surrey 78,807,464 75.86 69,192,636 66.52 77,222,022 73.15 94,700,598 89.59 
			 Sussex 132,248,358 90.37 137,621,104 93.45 141,383,482 95.11 145,298,679 97.34 
			 Thames Valley 176,026,751 85.57 185,810,897 89.86 188,695,306 90.58 195,303,954 93.23 
			 Warwickshire 43,319,658 87.20 43,204,518 86.57 43,979,170 88.03 48,857,158 97.48 
			 West Mercia 91,613,903 81.40 92,575,014 81.45 97,537,617 85.38 103,887,626 90.29 
			 Wiltshire 53,621,786 90.27 54,034,079 90.07 54,591,774 90.30 57,681,486 94.89 
			  Shires 2,772,699,448 91.27 2,855,735,413 93.62 2,932,972,511 95.67 3,090,859,191 100.36 
			  
			 Greater Manchester 322,824,607 128.01 332,328,944 131.78 341,697,763 135.84 355,025,948 141.09 
			 Merseyside 214,272,608 153.84 216,739,970 156.32 218,438,468 158.49 226,598,721 164.91 
			 Northumbria 181,378,619 127.98 193,647,646 137.23 197,388,520 140.69 200,928,458 143.89 
			 South Yorkshire 145,978,152 114.39 150,771,198 118.38 156,643,793 123.35 162,809,017 128.57 
			 West Midlands 324,272,354 125.13 340,993,840 131.83 348,794,630 135.08 363,303,245 141.29 
			 West Yorkshire 243,631,508 117.54 252,902,143 122.00 258,821,535 124.90 273,669,704 131.97 
			  Prov Mets 1,432,357,848 127.07 1,487,383,741 132.18 1,521,784,709 135.62 1,582,335,093 141.30 
			  
			  Metropolitan 1,587,490,149 226.49 1,606,763,440 227.59 1,629,305,447 227.96 1,635,386,149 226.20 
			  
			  Total England 5,792,547,445 119.04 5,949,882,594 121.89 6,084,062,667 124.10 6,308,580,433 128.15 
			  
			 Dyfed-Powys 42,576,799 88.78 43,538,940 90.37 43,621,325 91.28 46,475,828 95.53 
			 Gwent 57,276,040 103.88 59,012,580 106.94 62,157,692 111.61 64,485,422 116.78 
			 North Wales 62,428,693 95.34 63,181,866 96.18 64,516,140 98.35 67,564,170 102.16 
			 South Wales 142,270,462 117.66 144,632,011 119.63 148,162,838 119.86 152,434,371 126.31 
			  Total Wales 304,551,994 105.20 310,365,397 107.04 318,457,995 109.79 330,959,791 113.85 
			  
			  Total England and Wales 6,097,099,439 118.27 6,260,247,991 121.05 6,402,520,662 123.30 6,639,540,224 127.36 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			   2001-02  2001-02 Adjusted( 2)  2002-03  2003-04 
			  Force  Total grants( 5)  Funding per head of population  Total grants( 5)  Funding per head of population  Total grants( 5)  Funding per head of population  Total grants( 5)  Funding per head of population 
			 Avon and Somerset 167,266,538 112.05 163,345,687 109.02 166,626,236 110.48 174,136,468 114.63 
			 Bedfordshire 60,884,167 107.19 59,411,203 104.21 65,374,029 113.94 66,964,609 116.21 
			 Cambridgeshire 75,180,063 105.57 73,402,264 102.30 73,457,279 100.65 79,388,034 107.59 
			 Cheshire 104,534,695 106.23 101,958,551 103.47 107,163,976 108.21 118,440,154 119.32 
			 Cleveland 82,850,484 149.46 80,944,872 145.93 88,034,555 158.75 91,171,211 164.77 
			 Cumbria 60,923,784 124.90 59,517,164 122.02 61,500,179 125.55 63,781,781 128.91 
			 Derbyshire 103,477,257 107.16 101,059,759 104.04 102,750,189 105.25 108,622,429 110.93 
			 Devon and Cornwall 172,249,441 109.12 168,159,785 105.74 173,570,192 108.40 179,035,201 110.58 
			 Dorset 65,442,641 94.38 63,809,831 91.64 65,402,198 93.51 68,330,296 97.56 
			 Durham 83,289,477 140.79 81,402,979 137.70 84,255,030 142.23 88,653,064 148.90 
			 Essex 159,810,451 98.88 155,788,323 95.99 168,482,366 103.39 173,265,052 105.93 
			 Gloucestershire 60,448,016 106.99 58,983,695 104.23 60,572,010 106.56 63,499,161 110.86 
			 Hampshire 186,444,857 104.63 181,792,921 101.68 192,772,587 107.27 209,692,545 116.40 
			 Hertfordshire 106,412,376 102.76 103,753,532 100.04 107,259,800 103.04 111,139,854 106.73 
			 Humberside 114,082,400 130.28 111,469,052 126.99 113,382,756 128.60 121,087,013 136.43 
			 Kent 183,056,183 115.79 178,621,370 112.33 186,814,474 116.77 203,298,136 126.25 
			 Lancashire 186,360,515 131.49 182,213,571 128.08 183,792,416 128.60 194,034,622 135.23 
			 Leicestershire 103,678,722 111.77 101,277,028 108.46 102,445,686 109.12 108,735,388 115.01 
			 Lincolnshire 60,981,166 94.16 59,480,077 90.58 65,876,036 99.02 66,869,610 99.28 
			 Norfolk 82,188,870 102.91 80,187,105 99.86 85,479,233 105.44 92,290,472 113.03 
			 Northamptonshire 63,562,727 100.74 62,027,390 97.24 64,456,980 100.29 71,650,232 110.79 
			 North Yorkshire 75,839,852 100.93 74,011,779 97.94 78,025,731 102.78 81,294,481 106.29 
			 Nottinghamshire 124,491,836 122.32 121,554,721 118.79 131,352,788 127.61 136,034,614 131.47 
			 Staffordshire 108,284,559 103.37 105,635,170 100.82 110,723,127 105.55 119,899,618 114.12 
			 Suffolk 69,444,467 103.66 67,800,015 100.96 68,036,445 100.34 71,782,789 104.99 
			 Surrey 94,363,815 89.01 91,969,273 86.66 93,655,856 87.97 101,051,989 94.69 
			 Sussex 156,655,499 104.57 152,722,727 101.76 164,471,474 109.20 170,803,193 113.08 
			 Thames Valley 218,937,126 104.14 213,603,947 101.53 223,328,558 105.72 231,919,479 109.35 
			 Warwickshire 58,897,284 116.35 57,661,272 112.34 51,511,699 99.19 56,080,923 106.72 
			 West Mercia 114,846,837 99.10 112,147,268 96.10 112,244,949 95.67 117,891,990 100.01 
			 Wiltshire 62,892,778 102.49 61,379,320 99.53 63,140,819 101.51 65,617,787 104.69 
			  Shires 3,367,778,883 108.88 3,287,091,651 105.83 3,415,959,653 109.37 3,606,462,195 114.86 
			  
			 Greater Manchester 394,007,459 156.59 385,338,092 152.76 393,031,349 155.29 422,882,886 166.55 
			 Merseyside 239,332,970 174.98 233,938,605 171.35 254,939,218 186.88 265,864,533 194.65 
			 Northumbria 220,497,192 158.16 215,624,972 154.89 213,016,744 152.98 227,730,370 163.09 
			 South Yorkshire 171,027,367 135.04 167,039,532 131.63 178,676,214 140.40 192,977,606 150.95 
			 West Midlands 384,610,059 149.77 375,813,498 145.88 397,439,751 154.14 437,726,073 169.72 
			 West Yorkshire 289,297,152 138.88 282,626,151 135.18 302,905,630 144.53 318,087,047 150.89 
			  Prov Mets 1,698,772,199 151.73 1,660,380,850 148.04 1,740,008,906 154.88 1,865,268,515 165.55 
			  
			  Metropolitan 1,789,383,986 244.62 1,770,532,440 240.45 1,930,247,894 261.56 2,052,349,731 276.60 
			  
			  Total England 6,855,935,068 138.67 6,718,004,941 135.34 7,086,216,453 142.16 7,524,080,441 150.23 
			  
			 Dyfed-Powys 53,230,741 108.96 52,730,375 106.86 53,903,212 108.09 56,421,546 112.02 
			 Gwent 70,233,259 126.98 69,384,296 125.19 72,205,773 130.03 76,560,040 137.54 
			 North Wales 74,012,482 111.37 73,189,678 109.65 78,811,141 117.49 82,149,551 121.79 
			 South Wales 165,047,282 137.08 162,941,600 134.86 169,203,065 139.47 174,594,435 143.39 
			  Total Wales 362,523,764 124.57 358,245,949 122.54 374,123,191 127.34 389,725,572 132.00 
			  
			  Total England and Wales 7,218,458,832 137.88 7,076,250,890 134.63 7,460,339,644 141.33 7,913,806,013 149.21 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			   2004-05( 3)  2005-06  2005-06 Adjusted( 4)  2006-07 
			  Force  Total grants( 5)  Funding per head of population  Total grants( 5)  Funding per head of population  Total grants( 5)  Funding per head of population  Total grants( 5)  Funding per head of population 
			 Avon and Somerset 179,991,929 117.58 189,288,907 123.65 189,186,748 123.59 194,058,882 126.77 
			 Bedfordshire 69,137,119 118.67 72,511,039 124.46 72,560,186 124.54 75,286,652 129.22 
			 Cambridgeshire 83,086,513 110.99 86,983,001 116.20 86,900,776 116.09 88,586,310 118.34 
			 Cheshire 118,715,417 119.51 122,626,165 123.45 122,659,499 123.48 129,738,200 130.61 
			 Cleveland 94,765,694 171.41 98,900,316 178.89 98,769,843 178.65 103,941,577 188.01 
			 Cumbria 66,174,590 132.65 69,300,526 138.91 69,265,705 138.85 72,649,078 145.63 
			 Derbyshire 111,900,756 114.04 116,818,898 119.05 117,108,772 119.34 117,916,288 120.17 
			 Devon and Cornwall 185,584,539 113.90 193,923,442 119.02 193,923,090 119.02 199,686,926 122.56 
			 Dorset 70,147,553 99.95 73,194,224 104.29 73,194,031 104.29 76,434,721 108.91 
			 Durham 91,401,852 152.61 95,775,850 159.91 95,701,665 159.79 98,564,381 164.57 
			 Essex 177,310,231 107.73 185,918,526 112.96 185,918,233 112.96 194,223,966 118.00 
			 Gloucestershire 65,590,510 114.03 68,745,094 119.51 68,744,970 119.51 70,549,258 122.65 
			 Hampshire 210,108,938 116.01 216,712,905 119.66 216,712,467 119.66 225,716,430 124.63 
			 Hertfordshire 115,077,798 109.79 120,351,319 114.82 120,351,327 114.82 121,908,119 116.30 
			 Humberside 124,767,084 140.03 130,457,757 146.41 130,502,901 146.46 136,172,928 152.83 
			 Kent 203,907,454 125.79 211,207,031 130.29 211,206,651 130.29 219,742,361 135.56 
			 Lancashire 200,851,547 139.55 210,385,869 146.18 210,200,985 146.05 223,632,414 155.38 
			 Leicestershire 112,666,870 118.20 118,997,320 124.84 119,047,863 124.90 124,637,887 130.76 
			 Lincolnshire 69,189,712 101.95 71,874,277 105.90 71,846,732 105.86 76,212,846 112.29 
			 Norfolk 92,588,670 112.33 95,962,052 116.42 96,148,200 116.65 101,089,628 122.65 
			 Northamptonshire 71,724,474 110.04 75,447,616 115.75 75,377,148 115.64 79,707,797 122.28 
			 North Yorkshire 80,675,239 104.95 84,071,910 109.37 84,071,827 109.37 86,190,711 112.12 
			 Nottinghamshire 141,195,464 135.58 145,901,344 140.10 146,033,379 140.23 145,973,235 140.17 
			 Staffordshire 120,694,535 114.40 125,525,379 118.98 125,525,189 118.98 130,374,957 123.58 
			 Suffolk 73,592,541 106.34 76,530,014 110.58 76,529,834 110.58 78,596,478 113.57 
			 Surrey 100,925,078 93.84 103,324,333 96.07 103,324,324 96.07 110,379,948 102.63 
			 Sussex 175,364,408 115.57 182,907,792 120.54 182,907,487 120.54 189,479,444 124.87 
			 Thames Valley 239,882,137 112.13 249,741,842 116.74 249,741,605 116.74 259,687,980 121.39 
			 Warwickshire 55,877,928 104.65 57,895,797 108.43 57,883,933 108.41 60,648,336 113.59 
			 West Mercia 121,102,508 102.18 125,687,913 106.05 125,687,896 106.05 132,254,753 111.59 
			 Wiltshire 67,461,534 106.98 70,214,802 111.34 70,215,042 111.34 73,597,544 116.71 
			  Shires 3,691,460,622 116.83 3,847,183,260 121.76 3,847,248,308 121.76 3,997,640,035 126.52 
			  
			 Greater Manchester 436,865,139 171.48 456,318,982 179.11 455,795,770 178.91 482,878,658 189.54 
			 Merseyside 273,723,842 200.22 282,736,272 206.81 282,776,521 206.84 299,392,224 218.99 
			 Northumbria 240,750,227 171.17 253,095,796 179.95 252,853,896 179.77 265,571,654 188.82 
			 South Yorkshire 194,897,632 151.60 201,377,307 156.64 201,318,845 156.59 209,226,596 162.74 
			 West Midlands 442,750,505 170.86 468,853,533 180.93 468,024,761 180.61 491,773,282 189.78 
			 West Yorkshire 328,759,890 155.18 343,383,831 162.08 342,979,774 161.89 356,789,523 168.41 
			  Prov Mets 1,917,747,235 169.46 2,005,765,721 177.24 2,003,749,567 177.06 2,105,631,937 186.06 
			  
			  Metropolitan 2,133,108,239 284.09 2,257,702,672 300.68 2,254,487,809 300.26 2,382,381,625 317.29 
			  
			 Total England 7,742,316,096 153.55 8,110,651,653 160.85 8,105,485,684 160.75 8,485,653,597 168.29 
			  
			 Dyfed-Powys 58,441,565 115.64 60,612,197 119.94 60,633,942 119.98 64,188,858 127.01 
			 Gwent 78,898,309 141.84 81,914,886 147.27 81,905,738 147.25 86,119,843 154.83 
			 North Wales 85,985,882 127.36 88,383,817 130.91 88,339,784 130.85 90,215,700 133.62 
			 South Wales 181,692,449 148.70 189,876,715 155.40 189,955,140 155.47 196,583,042 160.89 
			  Total Wales 405,018,205 136.90 420,787,615 142.23 420,834,604 142.24 437,107,443 147.74 
			  
			  Total England and Wales 8,147,334,301 152.63 8,531,439,268 159.82 8,526,320,288 159.73 8,922,761,040 167.15 
			 (1) General grant was not directly comparable with 1997/98 general grant owing to NCIS adjustment. (2) Adjusted for NCS & NCIS. (3) From 2004/05 onwards resident population data used is taken from the mid-2005 population estimates. (4) Adjusted for comparison purposes following the transfer of pensions and security funding from general grant in 2006/07. (5 )Total Government Grant comprises: Home Office Police grant, DCLG/WAG Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic rates, Specific grants including Crime Fighting Fund, Neighbourhood Policing Fund, Community Support Officers continuation funding, Basic Command Unit Fund, Rural Policing Grant, Special Priority Payments, Forensic Grant, London/SE Allowances, Capital provision and from 2006/07 Pensions Deficit Grant and Dedicated Security Post Funding.  Source: Resident Population Figures - Office for National Statistics.

Police: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total revenue raised from police precepts in police authorities in  (a) England and  (b) Wales was in each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07, broken down by police authority.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is set out in the table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Avon and Somerset 25.6 27.2 30.6 34.4 37.4 43.4 58.6 66.3 70.3 74.4 
			 Bedfordshire 9.5 10.2 11.3 12.5 13.3 15.0 18.0 20.9 22.1 23.4 
			 Cambridgeshire 11.7 11.2 12.3 14.9 16.5 23.1 28.0 32.6 34.6 36.7 
			 Cheshire 17.1 18.3 19.4 21.2 22.6 25.9 31.3 35.0 37.0 39.4 
			 Cleveland 8.6 7.6 9.9 10.4 11.2 15.5 19.5 22.4 23.8 25.1 
			 Cumbria 9.2 11.6 12.6 13.7 14.9 16.6 21.8 25.7 26.8 28.3 
			 Derbyshire 15.1 17.0 19.8 21.6 23.2 28.5 34.9 38.7 40.9 43.1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 26.3 25.8 28.9 32.2 34.2 41.2 58.2 65.8 70.1 74.2 
			 Dorset 16.6 18.6 20.7 22.7 24.9 28.1 33.8 37.9 40.5 42.8 
			 Durham 8.9 8.3 8.7 9.1 9.9 11.4 14.1 16.4 17.4 18.4 
			 Dyfed-Powys 8.2 10.2 12.6 14.9 16.1 17.5 22.4 26.1 28.0 29.9 
			 Essex 29.3 34.1 36.1 40.2 42.5 46.8 56.5 60.8 64.8 69.1 
			 Gloucestershire 10.0 11.4 13.8 15.8 16.8 19.4 29.6 33.0 34.6 36.7 
			 Greater Manchester 40.2 42.0 45.0 47.1 48.9 52.2 69.8 75.5 81.1 85.8 
			 Gwent 8.7 9.7 10.7 13.7 15.4 17.7 22.4 26.4 28.5 30.1 
			 Hampshire 31.8 31.1 33.6 34.7 37.5 48.2 62.8 70.9 75.0 79.3 
			 Hertfordshire 17.6 20.2 22.0 28.1 30.2 33.9 41.4 47.7 50.3 53.4 
			 Humberside 13.4 13.6 14.3 15.9 22.7 25.5 30.7 35.9 37.8 39.9 
			 Kent 28.7 27.2 29.8 31.9 34.8 42.8 55.9 63.0 67.0 70.9 
			 Lancashire 22.9 23.1 25.2 27.6 30.2 33.1 39.6 45.9 49.4 52.3 
			 Leicestershire 14.5 17.1 18.1 19.4 21.8 27.9 31.0 35.9 38.2 40.5 
			 Lincolnshire 13.4 15.5 16.3 17.5 18.7 19.9 22.3 24.3 26.2 28.0 
			 Merseyside 27.0 29.1 31.4 33.2 35.3 39.3 42.3 46.2 48.9 51.5 
			 Metropolitan 181.8 222.3 241.3 248.2 324.6 361.4 443.7 521.3 560.5 607.4 
			 Norfolk 13.0 14.0 17.0 19.3 22.6 27.4 33.7 39.0 41.3 44.0 
			 Northamptonshire 13.4 13.4 15.1 16.0 17.0 22.0 27.7 32.2 33.7 36.0 
			 Northumbria 21.3 19.4 20.3 21.2 22.9 24.1 26.6 28.1 29.6 30.5 
			 North Wales 11.2 13.6 15.7 18.8 20.0 23.6 31.3 38.0 42.4 45.0 
			 North Yorkshire 13.0 12.8 14.0 15.4 17.2 24.6 43.6 49.0 50.6 52.2 
			 Nottinghamshire 14.9 16.4 18.7 20.0 21.7 26.5 34.4 38.1 40.4 42.6 
			 South Wales 19.5 22.4 26.2 32.5 34.8 36.7 42.7 48.4 52.9 56.5 
			 South Yorkshire 18.9 19.3 20.2 21.2 22.6 26.9 34.4 38.0 40.0 42.3 
			 Staffordshire 17.7 23.6 25.8 27.5 31.5 34.0 43.1 47.5 50.3 53.4 
			 Suffolk 11.3 11.7 12.6 13.9 15.5 19.1 25.7 28.7 30.2 32.0 
			 Surrey 15.0 22.5 25.7 36.9 38.9 45.4 63.8 69.8 73.8 78.7 
			 Sussex 29.1 29.0 30.6 32.2 34.6 41.1 57.9 63.4 67.1 71.0 
			 Thames Valley 40.6 39.5 44.5 47.9 51.7 59.2 86.1 98.6 104.2 110.8 
			 Warwickshire 9.2 11.0 12.8 14.0 15.7 19.0 22.1 24.1 25.5 27.0 
			 West Mercia 19.7 21.0 23.4 29.8 32.0 43.0 49.7 57.9 60.7 64.3 
			 West Midlands 39.6 36.6 38.4 41.3 43.3 47.2 54.5 61.3 64.6 68.0 
			 West Yorkshire 31.8 31.8 33.5 36.2 37.9 47.8 56.1 64.7 69.0 73.2 
			 Wiltshire 11.8 13.6 15.1 16.8 18.7 20.7 25.2 27.9 29.6 31.6 
			  Source: Department for Communities and Local Government and Welsh Assembly Government

Police: Manpower

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in England and Wales in  (a) 1979,  (b) 1997 and  (c) 2006.

Tony McNulty: The available data are given in the table.
	
		
			  Police officer strength in England and Wales as at 31 March 1979, 31 March 1997 and 31 March 2006 (FTE)( 1,2) 
			  As at 31 March:  Police officer strength 
			 1979 109,653 
			 1997 125,051 
			 2006 139,631 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent. All officers excluding staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (2) This and other tables contain full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.

Proceeds of Crime

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the director of the Assets Recovery Agency first informed him that the limitation on chasing moneys owed by criminals caused by the12 year rule was a serious impediment to the operation of the Agency.

Vernon Coaker: The Director and the Home Office have had regular discussions about the work of the Agency since its inception. There has been a general recognition that it would not be possible for the Agency to pursue civil recovery action in certain cases because of the 12 year limitation period. We have no record of the Director having made representations to the Home Office that the 12 year rule was an impediment to the operation of the Agency or affected performance against its published targets. The Government made a number of changes to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in the Serious Organised Crime Act 2005 in response to proposals from the Agency, although there was no proposal to amend the 12 year rule. In evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in March 2006, the Agency referred to the 12 year limit among a range of other subjects. We keep the legislation under review and we will be looking further at this matter.

Security: Civil Service Agencies

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to improve the security of staff handling post in government agencies.

Hilary Armstrong: I have been asked to reply.
	Government Departments and Agencies follow longstanding advice and guidance on the handling of post which is regularly reviewed and updated. It is up to Departments to assess the risks posed to their buildings and staff, and to ensure that they are achieving the appropriate levels of protection through a process of risk management.

Afghanistan: Politics and Government

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she made to the Government of Afghanistan on the  (a) appointments of and  (b) subsequent conduct of provincial governors and police chiefs in each of the last two years.

Kim Howells: Decisions on appointments of provincial governors and police chiefs are for the Afghan Government to make. The Afghan Government is well aware of the international community's often stated concern to achieve merit-based appointments. We share this concern to help achieve professional standards and integrity in government, goals to which the Afghan Government committed itself in the Afghanistan Compact in January 2006.

Algeria: Asylum

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on establishing mechanisms to assess the number of refugees in Tindouf camps in Algeria.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not made any representations to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on establishing mechanisms to assess the number of refugees in the Tindouf camps in south western Algeria.
	The Government remains concerned by the humanitarian situation in the refugee camps. The UN World Food programme (WFP), which has been providing assistance to the camps since 1986, has raised concern over the nutritional status of the refugees. The UNHCR and WFP have been focusing on the 90,000 most vulnerable beneficiaries of aid. The WFP also reported a decline in contributions causing serious breaks in food distributions over the last six months. In response, the EU donated a further US$1.3 million to provide food aid to Western Saharan refugees at the end of January 2007, supported by the UK whose share of the contribution will be over US$200,000. Saharawi refugees started arriving in Algeria in 1976, and have been totally dependent on outside assistance for the past 30 years. Estimates vary as to the number of refugees. Algeria and the Polisario refuse to allow a census in the camps. They say they will do so once there is movement in the political process.

Arms Control

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the UN Panel of Experts is expected to announce its findings on the identity of those responsible for breaching the UN Arms Embargo established by UNSCR 1591.

Kim Howells: The Panel of Experts, established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1591, is required by UNSCR 1713 to provide to the Sudan Sanctions Committee a midterm briefing on its work no later than 29 March 2007. Itis required to produce its final report no later than30 days prior to termination of its mandate, which occurs on 29 September 2007. The panel may provide additional reporting to the Committee at any time on a confidential basis.

Ballistic Missile Defence

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on US plans to establish an anti-missile base in Poland and a radar control centre in the Czech Republic.

Kim Howells: It is not the practice of the Government to make public details of all discussions with foreign governments. However, the UK does discuss NATO ballistic missile defence on a regular basis.

Chad

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the situation in eastern Chad; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The situation in eastern Chad continues to be unstable. There have been reports of recent rebel attacks on towns close to the border and of spill-over violence from Darfur into eastern Chad.
	British officials met with the Chadian Foreign Minister, Ahmat Allami, on 20 February to urge the Government of Chad to implement and abide by the terms of the Tripoli agreement, which calls for a ceasefire between Chad and Sudan, and not to support armed movements which destabilise the region. We also continue in our contacts with the Chadian government to press them to engage with the opposition.
	This year, through the Department for International Development, we are providing £4 million to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Programme and Oxfam, who are supporting both the refugees and internally displaced in eastern Chad.

China: Air Pollution

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary ofState for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her Chinese counterparts on China's environmental record and meeting carbon emission targets.

Ian McCartney: The Government regularly discusses climate change and wider environmental issues with Chinese counterparts. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised UK-China partnership on climate change, the EU-China near-Zero Emissions Coal Project and EU-China co-operation on renewable energy and energy efficiency with Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in the margins of the UK-China Prime Ministerial Summit in September 2006.
	At official level, the UK and China have established bilateral 'Working Groups' on Climate Change and Energy, and take forward collaborative work onwider environmental issues through the UK-China Sustainable Development Dialogue. China is also a fellow member of the Gleneagles Dialogue on Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development.

China: Human Rights

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to encourage improved human rights in China.

Ian McCartney: We encourage the Chinese Government to meet international human rights standards at every appropriate opportunity, both bilaterally and through the EU, and at the highest levels. We hold more detailed discussions on human rights with the Chinese Government during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, the most recent round being held in London on Monday 5 February which I attended. We also work to deliver positive changes on the ground by supporting a wide range of human rights projects in China.

East Africa: Migration

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's role is in taking forward the East African Migration Routes Initiative.

Kim Howells: This work arises out of the EU'sGlobal Approach to Migration strategy. The strategy identified four migration routes from Africa and called for member states to develop initiatives for operational co-operation between countries of origin, transit and destination along these routes. We are, with EU partners, supporting activity along route four (East Africa: Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Libya). We have called this the East Africa Migration Routes Initiative. To date, this has entailed work to establish a network of EU Immigration Liaison Officers in East Africa and a survey of member states' activities in the region. The UK and Italy have also submitted a joint application to the European Commission for funding for projects that address irregular migration in East Africa.

EC Common Foreign and Security Policy

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what definition she uses of flexicurity as cited in Prospects for the European Union in 2007, Cm 2024.

Geoff Hoon: 'Flexicurity' can be broadly described as a framework that allows labour market flexibility and employment security to be mutually reinforcing, rather than in competition with one another. It needs to have many dimensions and should be based on financial sustainability, better regulation principles and encouraging inclusive labour markets.

Energy: EC Countries

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she expects the complete opening of EU energy markets to be achieved by 1 July.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The 2003 Electricity and Gas directives oblige member states to complete the opening of their energy markets by July. Some have achieved this already. Where further action is needed, we expect the Commission to ensure member states meet their obligations and welcome the enforcement action already being taken.
	The Commission's recent strategic energy review outlined further action that has been identified as necessary for the development of the internal energy market. The review is currently being considered by the European Council and we expect the Commission tobe able to bring forward further internal market legislation by September. The Commission has also recently completed a sectoral review of energy and is taking legal action against a number of companies for anti-competitive behaviour.

Indonesia: Terrorism

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of  (a) Indonesian and  (b) Filipino efforts to combat Islamic extremism; and what support the UK has made available to help these efforts.

Kim Howells: We welcome the work of the governments of Indonesia and the Philippines to combat Islamic extremism. We work closely with both governments to counter the threat of international terrorism and the extremism that fuels terrorism. We provide specialist training and share our experiences. The UK has a great deal to learn from both countries, given their large Muslim populations, about the causes of Islamic extremism and how to respond to it effectively and sensitively.

Iran: EC Action

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the new formula put forward by Iran in its formal response of 22 August 2006 to the European (EU-3); and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Iran's formal response to the proposals of the 'E3+3' (France, Germany, UK plus China, Russia, US) gave no indication that Iran would be prepared to meet the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors and UN Security Council requirements so that negotiations could begin. Nor has Iran given any such indication since then. The E3+3 continue to urge Iran to comply with the IAEA Board and UN Security Council Resolutions and to take the positive path on offer.

Iran: EC Action

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what preconditions have been placed on further talks with Iran.

Kim Howells: Iran's nuclear programme is ofdeep concern. We remain committed to a negotiated solution. The 'E3+3' (France, Germany, UK plus China, Russia, US) have made clear that for negotiations to begin on the basis of the proposals presented by the EU High Representative Javier Solana on 6 June 2006, Iran must address the requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737, including by suspending all uranium enrichment related and reprocessing activities. Iran has so far failed to do so, in defiance of its legally binding obligations. We continue to urge Iran to take the positive path on offer.

Iran: EC Action

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response was given to Iran's requests for clarification following the European (EU-3) proposal; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: On 6 June 2006, the EU High Representative, Javier Solana, presented generous proposals to Iran on behalf of the 'E3+3' (France, Germany, UK plus China, Russia, US). The proposals would give Iran everything it needs to develop a modern civil nuclear power industry, as well as political and economic benefits. In return, the E3+3 asked that Iran should suspend all uranium enrichment related and reprocessing activities, as required by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors and the UN Security Council, until international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its programme has been restored.
	Despite persistent efforts by Dr. Solana, the Iranians declined to engage substantively on the proposals during June and July 2006, including at a meeting in Brussels on 11 July 2006 between Dr. Solana (supported by E3 and Russian Political Directors) and the Secretary-General of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani (and the full Iranian negotiating team). Dr. Larijani did not ask any serious questions about the proposals and would not say whether Iran was prepared to suspend uranium enrichment activities. Iran formally responded to the proposals on 22 August 2006. The lengthy response did not indicate that Iran would be prepared to meet the IAEA Board and Security Council requirements.
	The E3+3 continued to show flexibility. Despite the passing of the Security Council's 31 August 2006 deadline, Dr. Solana had a series of exchanges withDr. Larijani in September 2006 to see if Iran could be persuaded to take the steps that would allow negotiations to begin. But Dr. Larijani made clear to Dr. Solana that Iran was not prepared to do so and President Ahmadinejad also said publicly that Iran would not suspend enrichment. The E3+3 therefore decided that there was no choice but to seek measures under Article 41 of the UN Charter, targeted on Iran's sensitive nuclear and missile activities. The Security Council adopted Resolution 1737, imposing such measures, on 23 December 2006.
	The most recent report of the IAEA Director-General, issued on 22 February, makes clear that Iran has not taken the steps required by Security Council Resolution 1737. The E3+3's proposals remain on the table and Dr. Solana and the E3+3 continue to urge Iran to comply with IAEA Board and Security Council requirements, to enable negotiations to begin. The Security Council has said that it will impose further sanctions if Iran fails to meet its obligations.

Iran: Nuclear Weapons

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate the Government has made of the time it would take Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.

Kim Howells: Iran's nuclear programme is of serious concern. The nature of the programme, Iran's history of concealment, its failure to co-operate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its refusal to take essential confidence-building steps have added to international concerns that Iran's ambitions may not be, as it claims, entirely peaceful.
	Iran continues to pursue uranium enrichment related activities, in defiance of the requirement of the UN Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors that it should suspend these activities fully. They would enable Iran to develop the capability to produce fissile material that could be used in nuclear weapons. Iran has produced small quantities of enriched uranium at its pilot fuel enrichment plant at Natanz, but is still some way from mastering the technology. Once it has done so, the time it would require to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon, should it go down that course, would depend on a variety of factors including the scale and efficiency of the centrifuge cascade being used.
	It is imperative that Iran should take the steps required by the UN Security Council and the IAEA Board, including suspending fully all enrichment related and reprocessing activities. The Security Council made clear in resolution 1737, adopted unanimously on 23 December 2006, that if it failed to do so, the Council would adopt further sanctions.The latest report by the IAEA Director-General on22 February shows that Iran has failed to do so; we therefore expect to discuss possible measures with other members of the Security Council shortly. We remain committed to a negotiated solution and continue to urge Iran to meet its obligations and return to talks on the basis of the generous proposals presented to Iran on 6 June 2006 by EU High Representative Javier Solana.

Kosovo

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the Serbian government's policy towards the recommendation of Special Envoy Ahtisaari for the future status of Kosovo; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The United Kingdom fully supports UN Special Envoy Ahtisaari and welcomes his draft proposals, presented to Belgrade and Pristina on2 February. We are confident that his draft proposals can form the basis for a fair and sustainable settlement for all of Kosovo's communities.
	My right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe, and separately the EU Ministerial Troika, visited Belgrade on 7 February. Both President Tadic and Prime Minister Kostunica pledged their commitment to Serbia's participation in consultations to be led by Ahtisaari over the coming weeks. The United Kingdom encourages both sides to engage constructively and positively with the Special Envoy.

Kosovo

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her policy is on the future political status of Kosovo; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The United Kingdom fully supports the UN-led final status process for Kosovo and the efforts of the UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari. We welcomed the Special Envoy's decision to put his draft proposals to the parties on 2 February. At theGeneral Affairs and External Relations Council on12 February, EU Foreign Ministers agreed that the Special Envoy's draft proposals promote a multi-ethnic and democratic Kosovo based on the rule of law and strengthen the stability of the entire region.

Lithuania: International Whaling Commission

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions shehas had with the Lithuanian Foreign Minister on Lithuania's possible membership of the International Whaling Commission; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed International Whaling Commission (IWC) membership with the Lithuanian Foreign Minister.
	Our embassy in Vilnius sent a diplomatic note to the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in November 2006 encouraging IWC membership. The embassy will be lobbying the Ministry in advance of this year's IWC meeting (in May).

MI6: Finance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans she has for the budget of MI6.

Ian McCartney: For national security reasons, details of individual intelligence agency budgets arenot disclosed. The Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) is funded through the Single Intelligence Account (SIA). The comprehensive spending review (CSR) 2004, announced to Parliament on 12 July 2004, provided additional resources for the SIA to support significant expansion of the agencies' counter-terrorism capabilities. A further £85 million for the SIA for the period 2005-08 was announced in the pre-Budget report on 5 December 2005. The SIA's budget provision up to 2010-11 will be announced once the outcome of the CSR 2007 is known.

Non-Proliferation Treaty

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answerof 29 January 2007,  Official Report, column 664W, on the Autumn Performance Report, whether officials who have held a series of meetings to examine the possible use of financial measures against proliferators have held discussions with representatives of other countries.

Kim Howells: Yes. Officials have held a series of discussions with international partners, including US, France and Germany, in a variety of international fora, to examine the possible use of financial measures against proliferators.

North Korea: Political Prisoners

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received of the escape of political prisoners from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK); and what estimate she has made of the number of political prisoners who are incarcerated in the DPRK.

Ian McCartney: We have seen reports by a south Korean based defector organisation of the escape of 120 prisoners from a political prison camp in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The reports are as yet uncorroborated, but we will continue to monitor the situation.
	According to current estimates, approximately 200,000 prisoners are incarcerated in labour camps across the DPRK. We do not know what proportion of these are political prisoners.

Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the UK Government's policy is on  (a) uranium enrichment and  (b) plutonium production by foreign countries; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The UK's policy on civilian production of fissile material is based on Article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The UK works closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in promoting the secure use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes as set out in the Treaty and the strengthened processes for its implementation detailed in the 1995 and 2000 Final Documents of the NPT Review Conferences.
	In the case of Iran, the nature of Iran's nuclear programme, its history of concealment, its failureto co-operate fully with the IAEA and its refusal totake confidence building measures have added to international concern that Iran's ambitions may not be, as it claims, solely peaceful. The IAEA Board and the United Nations Security Council have required Iran in successive Resolutions to take certain steps including to suspend all uranium enrichment related and reprocessing activities. As the report of the IAEA Director-General issued on 22 February makes clear, Iran continues to defy its legally binding obligations in this area.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral answer of 21 February 2007,  Official Report, column 260 to the hon. Member for Sunderland South, which article of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty gives the United Kingdom the right to possess nuclear weapons.

Kim Howells: Article IX of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) states that
	"For the purposes of the Treaty, a nuclear-weapon state is one which has manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January, 1967".
	The UK successfully tested its first atomic bomb in October 1952 and is therefore classified as a nuclear weapon state under Article IX of the NPT. The NPT remains the principle source of international legal obligations relating to the possession of nuclear weapons. It is entirely lawful for the UK to possess nuclear weapons.

Nuclear Weapons

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will assess the effect of renewing the UK's nuclear deterrent on each of the 10 priority areas outlined in the Active Diplomacy for a Changing World: The UK's International Priorities, White Paper, Cm 6762.

Kim Howells: As stated in the 2006 White Paper on the Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrence, the UK is committed to helping to secure international peace and security. Since 1956, the nuclear deterrent has underpinned our ability to do so even in the most challenging circumstances. This is fully compatible with the International Priorities set out in the White Paper "Active Diplomacy for a Changing World".

Palestinians

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what conclusions were reached at the Quartet meeting of 21 February 2006on EU proposals to transition the Temporary International Mechanism to deliver to the Palestinian people to a long-term measure; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Middle East Quartet stated on21 February that:
	"It welcomed preliminary ideas put forward by the European Commission to meet the need to better co-ordinate and mobilise international assistance in support of the political process and to meet the needs of the Palestinian people".
	We fully support the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM), which was set up by the EU to help meet the basic needs of the most vulnerable citizens in Palestinian society. There are lessons to be learnt from the TIM, for example on aid co-ordination, which we hope will be incorporated into any longer-term programme of support for capacity building.
	The European Commission is leading efforts to form an international support mechanism for the Palestinian people. We fully support their efforts.

Papua

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of progress towards the autonomy of Papua within the Republic of Indonesia.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 27 February 2007
	Special Autonomy legislation for Papua was passed in 2001, following consultations with local community groups, academics and political representatives.
	Of the key elements of the legislation, the establishment of the MRP (Papuan People's Council) took place in 2005 and provincial governors were elected in 2006. Papua is also receiving 70 per cent. of oil and gas royalties originating in Papua, as well as80 per cent. of royalties from the forestry, fishery and mining industries.
	Special Autonomy devolves responsibility to the Papuan Regional Parliament (DPRP), MRP and Governor for implementation in all but five areas (defence, tax, internal security, macro-economic development and national development planning). Local legislation has been or is in the process of being approved by the DPRP on:
	the use of Papuan symbols;
	the Special Autonomy budget;
	forestry issues (relating to logging revenues and customary ("adat") rights);
	protection of customary rights; and
	health and education.
	Key elements not yet being implemented arethe Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the development of human resources as a formal element of Special Autonomy and the development of local political parties.

Rendition

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance was given by the Minister for Europe to the work of the Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Ministerfor Europe co-operated fully with the European Parliament's Temporary Committee on the allegeduse of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners throughout its proceedings. He met with the Committee in October 2006, when he explained the Government's position on rendition and answered all the questions put to him.

Sudan: Peace Keeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what time scale is envisaged for the phased deployment of UN peacekeepers to Darfur; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: UN action on Darfur is already under way with provision of a light support package to the African Union (AU) Mission in Sudan (AMIS).
	The AU and the UN have agreed a second, "heavy", support package (HSP). They await a reply from Sudanese President Bashir to the UN Secretary-General's letter of 24 January requesting agreement to the HSP, crucial for the deployment of troop contributing countries forces for the HSP. The UN consider this second phase of support will be deployed three to four months after President Bashir's agreement.
	The UN will later deploy a hybrid peacekeeping force (AU/UN) of around 20,000 troops. Planning for this new type of force is under way. Deployment will begin once most of the HSP is in place.
	The UK is working actively with the UN and other member states to speed up delivery of these arrangements as much as possible. We will also continue to monitor the Sudanese Government's actions closely to ensure they support AMIS' actions and UN reinforcement.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made on the Darfur talks in Tripoli between President Deby, President al-Bashir and Darfur rebels.

Ian McCartney: The Presidents of Sudan, Chad, Libya and Eritrea met in Tripoli on 20-22 February. The summit focused primarily on Sudan-Chad relations and how to resolve the continuing cross-border dispute. Some of the Darfur rebel groups were present at the summit for discussions on re-launching political discussions on the Darfur peace agreement.
	We take every opportunity to press both Sudan and Chad to stop supporting each others' rebels and to fulfil their obligations under the Tripoli agreement. The UK continues to support an inclusive and transparent process to resolve the crisis in Darfur. The African Union (AU) and UN are leading on this. We encourage the AU, UN, Libyans and Eritreans to co-ordinate their efforts to take this process forward. The UK's special representative for Sudan made these points during his visits to Chad and Libya last week.

Thailand: Politics and Government

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made is of the level of Islamic terrorist activity in Thailand.

Kim Howells: Islamic terrorist activity in Thailand stems largely from separatist groups in the southern provinces. There have been numerous attacks since 2004, which have been aimed at the majority Buddhist population. As public places are frequently targeted, there is a risk that westerners can get caught up in the violence. Our travel advice is that tourists should avoid all but essential travel through or to the far southern provinces of Thailand. We have a good relationship with the Thai government on issues relating to counter terrorism and where appropriate we have provided them with advice and assistance to help them combat the terrorist threat.

Freedom of Information

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member forNorth Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the total legal costs to the House are of responding to the application under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 submitted by the hon. Member for Lewes in respect of hon. Members' travel expenses.

Nick Harvey: The House appealed to the Information Tribunal in respect of two similar requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in respect of hon. Members' travel expenses. One was submitted by the hon. Member for Lewes and the other by another individual. The total external legal costs of two consolidated appeals was £17,372, of which half (£8,686) can be attributed to the hon. Member's request. Other legal costs including those relating to advice from the House's Legal Services Office are not separately available.

Advertising

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measurable change in people's attitudes or actions in each relevant area followed the advertising campaigns to which she referred to in the answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1536W, on advertising campaigns.

Angela Smith: The information is as follows:
	 In the financial year 2004-05:
	the Fire Safety campaign delivered a rise in recognition of the new fire prevention advertising from 23 per cent. in August 2004 to 46 per cent. in November 04 and 52 per cent. in March 2005;
	the elected regional assemblies campaign delivered a rise in public awareness from 41 per cent. in April to 54 per cent. in September 2004.
	 In the financial year 2005-06:
	the ongoing fire safety campaign delivered a rise in recognition of the new fire prevention advertising from 13 per cent. in August 2005 to 55 per cent. in February 2006;
	the campaign supporting the registration of landlords of houses of multiple occupancy is being measured by the ongoing number of landlords registering with local authorities and figures are not yet available.
	 In the financial year 2006-07:
	the ongoing fire safety campaign delivered a rise in recognition of the new fire prevention advertising from 27 per cent. in July/August 2006 to 45 per cent. in October/November 2006;
	the research into the local e-gov advertising campaign showed that 51 per cent.. of those who recognised the campaign intended to visit their local council website in the next 12 months;
	the campaign to encourage women to apply for posts in the fire and rescue service delivered a 20 per cent. increase in the number of applications from women when the campaign was running;
	the campaign to inform business of their new responsibilities under the Fire Order Reform delivered a rise in recognition from 14 per cent. in April to 61 per cent. awareness in September 2006;
	the home information pack trade sector campaign is delivering over 80 per cent. awareness of the introduction of the packs amongst those in the industry.
	The reduction in the number of fire deaths is also significant, since these are at their lowest since 1959. The most recent figures (for 2005) show a fall of 8 per cent. on the previous year, from 230 to 212. The 'Fire Kills' campaign is one part of the strategy which has achieved this, supporting the proactive community fire safety work of the fire and rescue service at the national level.

Community Relations

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated cost to the public purse is in 2006-07 ofthe promoting cohesion through effective media management programme run under the auspices of the Institute of Community Cohesion; what other public funding has been allocated to that Institute in 2006-07; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 23 February 2007
	In the financial year 2006-07 the Institute of Community Cohesion has received £45,000 from Communities and Local Government. We have also allocated £6,393 for expenses related to an interfaith research project for payment to the institute in 2006-07 (the research project took place in the 2005-06 financial year).
	The Institute of Community Cohesion is part of Coventry university which as an autonomous body, is free to determine how funding received from either public or private bodies is allocated, providing they meet the conditions of such grants.

Departments: Contracts

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the reasons were for the termination of her Department's contract with Scout Solutions Project Ltd; what the annual value was of that contract in each of the three years prior to its termination; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 18 September 2006 a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Ethnic Groups

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Commission for Racial Equality shares her Department's interpretation of whether the  (a) Welsh and  (b) Irish meet the definition of racial groups under the Race Relations Act 1976.

Phil Woolas: Section 3(1) of the Race Relations Act 1976 states that "racial group" means
	"a group of persons defined by reference to colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origins..."
	The determination of whether a particular group meets this definition is a matter for the courts, rather than the Government or the Commission for Racial Equality. However, our understanding is that the Commission for Racial Equality shares our view that the Welsh and Irish meet the definition of racial group under the Race Relations Act.

Fire Services: Greater London

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans the Department has to introduce retained firefighters in London

Angela Smith: Staffing and shift arrangements are a matter for individual fire and rescue authorities to determine. Communities and Local Government is not aware of any plans by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority to introduce retained duty system firefighters in its area.

Fire Services: North West Region

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average response time to each type of call for each fire and rescue service in the north-west was in the last period for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: The average response times to primary fires(l), measured in minutes from the first call being received in the control room to the time of arrival of an appliance at the fire ground, in the north-west Government office region in the calendar year 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			  Average response time (in minutes) to primary fires( 1)  by FRS area, North West GOR, 2005 (provisional) 
			   All locations  Dwellings  Other buildings 
			   Time of first call to arrive at fire  Time of mobilisation to arrival at fire  Time of first call to arrive at fire  Time of mobilisation to arrival at fire  Time of first call to arrive at fire  Time of mobilisation to arrival at fire 
			 North-west average 6.4 5.5 6.0 5.1 6.1 5.1 
			 Cheshire 7.3 6.7 6.9 6.3 6.5 6.1 
			 Cumbria 8.9 8.4 8.2 7.7 8.0 7.4 
			 Lancashire 6.5 5.5 5.9 4.9 6.7 5.6 
			 Greater Manchester 6.0 4.9 5.7 4.6 5.6 4.4 
			 Merseyside 6.2 5.3 5.7 4.9 5.9 4.9 
		
	
	
		
			   Road vehicles  Other outdoor 
			   Time of first call to arrive at fire  Time of mobilisation to arrival at fire  Time of first call to arrive at fire  Time of mobilisation to arrival at fire 
			 North-west average 7.0 6.0 6.9 5.6 
			 Cheshire 7.9 7.2 7.4 6.7 
			 Cumbria 9.8 9.3 13.1 12.3 
			 Lancashire 7.3 6.2 6.7 5.7 
			 Greater Manchester 6.5 5.4 6.2 5.0 
			 Merseyside 6.5 5.7 6.7 5.2 
			 (1) Excluding late call and heat and smoke damage only incidents  Source: FDR1 returns from fire and rescue services to the Department for Communities and Local Government

Retirement Age

Mike Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 189-90W, on the retirement age, what his Department's policy is on the application of the national default retirement age to staff below the Senior Civil Service.
	(2)  when he expects to answer Question 109542, tabled on 12 December 2006.

John Prescott: My staff are seconded from the Department for Communities and Local Government; I therefore refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon and Parliamentary Under-Secretary ofState at that Department (Angela E. Smith), on11 December 2006,  Official Report, column 903W.

Child Minding: Expenditure

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on  (a) provision of childminders and  (b) the expansion of the childminder network in each of the last three years.

Beverley Hughes: For 2006-08, £3 billion has been allocated to local authorities (LAs) through the General Sure Start Grant (GSSG). LAs have the flexibility to use this funding to create, sustain and support both childminders and childminder networks, as well as other Sure Start activities.
	LAs had similar flexibility in using the £1.2(1 )billion GSSG for 2004-06. Included in this allocation was a specific element of funding to support the recruitment and retention of childminders. £4.6 million was spent from this element in 2004-05 only. LAs also spent an additional £0.79 million for childminder start up costs in 2004-05. From April 2005 we increased the flexibilities LAs had in spending the GSSG, which means that data on spend specifically for childminders is not available for 2005-06.
	For 2003-04, the GSSG allocation included specific funding allocations for childminder start up costs, childminder sustainability and childminder networks. LAs were not restricted to these allocations however and had the flexibility to use other elements of the grant to meet local needs. Spend reported against these activities for 2003-04 were £5 million for childminder start up costs, £1.9 million for childminder sustainability and £2.9 million for the creation of childminder networks.
	(1) This figure does not include Sure Start Local Programme funding

Child Protection

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received on  (a) section 47 core assessments and  (b) the processes for investigations into perpetrators of child abuse; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 30 January 2007
	The way in which professionals should inquire into and take action to tackle cases of suspected child abuse or neglect is set out in the core statutory guidance document "Working Together to Safeguard Children". The Government received representations on these issues during the consultation process carried out in 2005 on draft revised guidance, when 302 written responses were received. Specifically, the consultation asked if social service functions under the Children Act 1989 such as section 47 inquiries should be led by qualified social workers rather than other professionals such as health visitors, teachers, or school nurses.The majority of respondents agreed that section 47 inquiries should be led by qualified social workers rather than other professionals. A substantial majority of respondents also agreed that the Working Together guidance should specify that social workers carrying out section 47 inquiries should be suitably trained and qualified.

Children: Day Care

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department spent on  (a) Sure Start,  (b) children's centres,  (c) nursery provision and  (d) childminder networks in each year between 2001 and 2004.

Beverley Hughes: The information available on outturn is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  (a) Total Sure Start resource and capital expenditure 367 467 680 720 928 
			   Of which:  
			  (b) Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs)/Children's Centres 56 134 216 365 568 
			
			  (c) Under fives 2,233 2,698 2,757 3,040 3,275 
			  (d) Childminder networks n/a n/a n/a 2.9 n/a 
			  Notes: 1. Source Departmental Report 2006 (Cm 6812), Annex A. 2. Children's Centres expenditure starts from 2003-04. SSLPs are included as the majority of settings are converting to Children's Centres. 3. Source Departmental Report 2006 (Cm 6812) Table 8.3. Local authority revenue expenditure as recorded on Section 52 outturn statements, excluding under fives expenditure in Special Schools and Sure Start expenditure. Includes expenditure on under fives in nursery schools, primary schools and in the private, voluntary and independent sectors from the Local Government Finance settlement and DfES specific grants. 2004-05 figures are provisional. 4. Expenditure within General Sure Start Grant on creation of childminder networks can only be separately identified in 2003-04.

Children: Day Care

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what percentage of school age children access formal child care  (a) in each region, including London, and  (b) in West Ham constituency;
	(2)  what percentage of pre-school age children access formal child care  (a) in each region, including London, and  (b) in West Ham constituency;
	(3)  what the percentage take-up of formal child care by lower income working families, as defined by his Department and the Department for Work and Pensions public service agreement, is  (a) in each region, including London, and  (b) in West Ham constituency;
	(4)  by what percentage take-up of formal child care has changed among  (a) lone parents and  (b) working couples (i) in each region, including London, and (ii) in West Ham constituency since 2001.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested at regional level is detailed as follows. However, the sample size of the Department's survey(1) on parents' data used to produce the figures is not large enough to enable analysis at constituency level.
	(1 )DfES Survey Childcare Early Years provision: A Study of parents' Use, Views and Experiences 2004-05.
	
		
			  Percentage of school age children who used a formal child care provider in the last week by Government office region 
			   Percentage 
			 East Midlands 19 
			 East of England 21 
			 London 19 
			 North East 16 
			 North West 17 
			 South East 21 
			 South West 20 
			 West Midlands 18 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 17 
			  Notes: 1. Rounded to the nearest percentage point. 2. These figures should be treated with care as some rely on relatively small sample sizes. 3. Lower income working families are defined as those on an annual family income of under £20,000. 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of pre-school age children who used a formal child care provider in the last week by Government office region 
			   Percentage 
			 East Midlands 65 
			 East of England 56 
			 London 49 
			 North East 56 
			 North West 56 
			 South East 58 
			 South West 58 
			 West Midlands 57 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 57 
			  Notes: 1. Rounded to the nearest percentage point 2. These figures should be treated with care as some rely on relatively small sample sizes. 3. Lower income working families are defined as those on an annual family income of under £20,000. 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage take-up of formal child care, in the last week, by lower income working families by Government office region 
			   Percentage 
			 East Midlands 29 
			 East of England 27 
			 London 24 
			 North East 24 
			 North West 23 
			 South East 28 
			 South West 27 
			 West Midlands 26 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 25 
			  Notes: 1. Rounded to the nearest percentage point. 2. These figures should be treated with care as some rely on relatively small sample sizes. 3. Lower income working families are defined as those on an annual family income of under £20,000. 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage change in the proportion of children in lone parent families who used formal child care in the last week by Government office region 
			   2001 (percentage)  2004 (percentage)  Percentage change 
			 East Midlands 27 24 -10 
			 East of England 19 28 46 
			 London 24 26 9 
			 North East 23 21 -5 
			 North West 24 28 18 
			 South East 20 27 38 
			 South West 21 26 26 
			 West Midlands 21 29 40 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 21 29 40 
			  Notes: 1. Rounded to the nearest percentage point. 2. These figures should be treated with care as some rely on relatively small sample sizes includes both working and non working lone parent families. 3. Lower income working families are defined as those on an annual family income of under £20,000. 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage change in the proportion of children in working couple families who used formal child care in the last week by Government office region 
			   2001 (percentage)  2004 (percentage)  Percentage change 
			 East Midlands 29 36 24 
			 East of England 25 32 28 
			 London 28 33 19 
			 North East 24 30 28 
			 North West 23 30 30 
			 South East 28 33 20 
			 South West 26 35 35 
			 West Midlands 28 31 11 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 27 29 6 
			 Notes: 1. Rounded to the nearest percentage point. 2. These figures should be treated with care as some rely on relatively small sample sizes. 3. Lower income working families are defined as those on an annual family income of under £20,000.

Children: Day Care

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the Government's policy of paying nursery providers and childminders £250 to issue business plans;
	(2)  what representations he has received on the Government's policy of paying nursery providers and childminders £250 to issue business plans.

Beverley Hughes: The Government have no such policy and has received no representations on the subject. Funding is, however, available through the General Sure Start Grant to local authorities to support the sustainability of child care in ways that they consider appropriate.
	Ensuring that child care provision is sustainable and able to meet the needs of parents and children is an important aspect of local authorities' role, and will be vital in relation to their new duty in the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure the sufficiency of child care for working parents. Authorities are free, if they choose, to use some of their General Sure Start Grant funding for business development support and training, in order to ensure that settings are viable over the longer term. This could include support and encouragement in relation to the production of business plans.

Departmental Expenditure: Pendle

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what expenditure is planned to be carried out in Pendle by his Department in the years up to 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: My Department's expenditure from the 2008-11 financial years is currently subject to the Comprehensive Spending Review process.
	The Department maintains central records on allocations to local authorities, not to constituencies. Pendle constituency falls within the local authority area of Lancashire. Table 1 sets out the level of funding allocated to Lancashire county council in 2007-08. No money is allocated directly to Pendle borough council.
	
		
			  Table 1: Funding allocated to Lancashire county council, 2007-08 
			  Programme  Amount (£000) 
			 Dedicated Schools Grant(1) 636,588 
			 Standards Fund(1) 48,976 
			 Formulaic Schools Capital Funding(2) 47,000 
			 National Digital Infrastructure for School 3,341 
			 E-Learning Credits 1,380 
			 Computers for Pupils 505 
			 Children's Services Grant 3,770 
			 Contact Point (ex IS Index) 365 
			 General Sure Start Grant Main Revenue 13,738 
			 General Sure Start Grant Main Capital 11,784 
			 Transformation Fund 1,748 
			 Sure Start Local Programmes 10,722 
			 Connexions Grant 13,011 
			 Children's Fund Grant 3,159 
			 Connexions Transition Funding 800 
			 Positive Activities for Young People 1,443 
			 Youth Opportunity/Capital Funds 1,227 
			 Teenage Pregnancy Local Implementation Grant 613 
			 Publicising Positive Activities Grant 80 
			 Local Network Fund 1,255 
			 Total 801,505 
			 (1) These are provisional allocations. Final DSG allocations for 2007-08 will be calculated by multiplying actual full-time equivalent pupil numbers from the January 2007 pupil count by the DSG per pupil Guaranteed Unit of Funding. Standards Fund figures will also change to reflect final pupil numbers. (2) Includes both grants and supported borrowing. 
		
	
	In addition £276 million has been provisionally allocated to Lancashire as a Building Schools for the Future (BSF) wave 1 authority. This funding is supported through a mix of capital grant, supported borrowing, and the private finance initiative.
	The figures exclude provisional LSC allocations, which at this stage of the planning process have been made at regional level only. The provisional allocation for North West region for 2007-08 is £1.262 billion, excluding LSC budgets such as capital grants and education maintenance allowances which are held nationally.

Faith Schools: Islam

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which Islamic schools have been inspected by Ofsted in each of the last five years; and what the result was of each inspection.

Jim Knight: holding answer 22 February 2007
	This is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 22 February 2007:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.
	You asked which Islamic schools have been inspected by Ofsted in each of the last five years and the result of each inspection.
	I attach the list of the Islamic schools inspected over the last five years. Inspections of non-association independent schools are undertaken by Ofsted at the request of the DfES, which is the registration authority for independent schools. Since September 2003, inspections have been undertaken in accordance with section 162A of the Education Act 2002 (as amended by the Education Act 2005). Those that provide a full assessment of the school's compliance with the statutory regulations for independent schools (made under the provisions of the 2002 Act) are published. Other visits made at the request of the DfES result in advice notes to the DfES which are not published; you would need to contact the DfES if you require these, or details of the action taken as a result of them. Unlike inspections of maintained schools, inspections of independent schools do not result in grades for the school's overall effectiveness, and so we cannot provide such outcomes to you.
	The published reports can be found on our website (www.ofsted.gov.uk) under the section 'Inspection reports', then 'Independent Schools'.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

Film: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Government funding has been given to the Film Club further tothe Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement on 15 February.

Shaun Woodward: The Film Club project has been developed as a partnership between film industry professionals and the UK Film Council. As the Government's strategic agency for film, the Film Council invested £100,000 in the pilot stage, matched by 100,000 from the film industry through All Industry Marketing (AIM).

Gaming Clubs

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place in the Library the minutes of the Casino Advisory Panel meeting of19th January 2007.

Richard Caborn: The minutes of the Casino Advisory Panel's meetings are available on its website, which can be accessed at:
	www.culture.gov.uk/cap
	I am arranging for copies of the minutes of the panel's meeting of 19 January 2007 to be placed in the House Library.

Gaming Clubs

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what expertise regarding the social impact of casinos members of the Casino Advisory Panel were required to demonstrate before appointment to the Panel.

Richard Caborn: The skills and experience required by the chair and members of the Casino Advisory Panel were set out in the role specification that formed part of the recruitment pack. Ministers were seeking people with skills and experience at a senior, strategic level in one or more of the following areas:
	the local or regional planning system;
	regeneration of disadvantaged areas;
	the leisure and tourism industries;
	the evaluation of economic change and its social impact.

Gaming Clubs

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the Casino Advisory Panel (CAP) first asked for their budget for 2006 to be determined; and on what date she informed CAP of its 2006 budget.

Richard Caborn: The Casino Advisory Panel discussed its budget for 2005-06 with DCMS officials during late 2005 and early 2006, as part of the Department's wider budgeting round.

Institute for Public Policy Research

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding the Heritage Lottery Fund has provided to the IPPR or IPPR Trading Ltd. in each year since its creation; and what the purpose was of such funding.

David Lammy: Since 1994, the Heritage Lottery Fund has taken part in three IPPR research projects to enable it to better understand the role of lottery funding for heritage in the communities with which it works. Two of these projects have examined the role of culture and heritage in building common identity and sense of belonging, and the other looked at the role that culture can play in community regeneration and civil renewal. HLF paid £48,500 for its part in these projects.

Institute for Public Policy Research

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding Ofcom has provided to the IPPR or IPPR Trading Ltd. in each year since its creation; and what the purpose was of such funding.

Shaun Woodward: The matters raised are the responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as independent regulator. Accordingly, my officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State forCulture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 5W, on the London Olympics, when she expects the 2012 organising committee to finalise the budget for the opening and closing sessions of the Olympic and Paralympic games.

Tessa Jowell: The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is a privately funded commercial organisation.
	Although LOCOG is currently finalising the budgets for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, due to commercial sensitivities, particularly with regards to ensuring that the organising committee is in a position to ensure value for money from suppliers and contractors, the final budgets will not be published.
	LOCOG is working within the overall framework set out in the candidate file and is confident that the budget for these elements of the Games will sit within its £2 billion revenue budget.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of5 February 2007,  Official Report, column 713W, on the London Olympics, whether the payment of VAT on capital costs for the 2012 Olympics incurred by the public sector was discussed during meetings of the Budget and Revenues Sub-Group.

Tessa Jowell: The minutes of the Budgets and Revenues Sub Group do not record any discussion of VAT on capital costs for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games but the group would have been aware that this was an issue that needed to be addressed in the future if the bid was won.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the date was of each meeting of the Olympics cost review steering group which held its first meeting on 31 October 2005; and what latest estimate for Olympic cost overruns was discussed at each meeting.

Tessa Jowell: The dates of the meetings were:31 October 2005; 14 November 2005 and 28 November 2005. No estimates of Olympics costs overruns were discussed at those meetings. At that time KPMG were still reviewing the costs across the Olympic programme. They had identified a range of potential cost risks, but had not quantified these at that stage.

Child Maintenance Payments

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how he envisages the role of providing appropriate information and guidance, as proposed on page 33 of the White Paper A new system of child maintenance will be apportioned between Jobcentre Plus staff and private and voluntary sector organisations.

James Plaskitt: The role of Jobcentre Plus in this respect is currently being developed.

Child Support Agency

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what reviews of data collectionand processing are being implemented following publication of the December 2006 Child Support Agency quarterly summary statistics; and how the error in the data relating to enforcement processes was identified.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 19 February 2007
	Following the release of the December 2006 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary Statistics, the data and processing behind the following tables are being reviewed:
	Table 11—Cash Compliance
	Table 13.1—Percentage of Parents with Care on income support or jobseeker's allowance (income based) in Receipt of Maintenance
	Table 21—Enforcement Activity
	A fully revised version of Table 13.1 was released on 8 February 2007. A brief explanation of the reasons for the revision are on the table. The new table is available in the House of Commons Library. The tables and a detailed technical note on the change are available on the DWP website.
	A review of Table 11 (cash compliance) is currently under way and will report in the next issue of the QSS on 26 April 2007.
	The error in Table 21 (enforcement activity) was discovered by comparing recent trends with historical performance. An investigation is in progress. Following this, a revised table and explanatory note will be published.

Child Support Agency: Personnel

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures he uses to assess the productivity of staff at the Child Support Agency.

James Plaskitt: The Child Support Agency has annual targets set by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. These targets are published in Hansard and the Annual Report and Accounts of the Child Support Agency. Performance against these targets is measured and published, on a quarterly basis, in the Agency's Quarterly Summary Statistics, which can be accessed in the following location:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/csa.asp
	The productivity of Agency people is measured in line with performance against these targets.
	Individual performance is assessed each year through the Department's performance and development appraisal system.

Children: Maintenance

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to  (a) the letter of 27 March 2006 (ref CSA PCV 154092/SR/JG),  (b) subsequent correspondence and  (c) the letter of 9 January 2007 (ref CSA PCV 161732/SM/JG) to the hon. Member for Totnes, on the case of constituent Mrs. N. Beardsmore of Paignton, what technical difficulties have prevented progression of Mrs. Beardsmore's case regarding child maintenance; what steps he is taking to tackle these difficulties; and what the reason is for the time taken to conclude this case.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 7 February 2007
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 28 February 2000:
	In reply to your recent parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to  (a) the letter of 27 March 2006 (ref CSA PCV 154092/SR/JG)  (b) subsequent correspondence and  (c) the letter of 9 January 2007 (ref CSA PCV 161732/SM/JG) to the hon. Member for Totnes on the case of constituent Mrs. N. Beardsmore of Paignton what technical difficulties have prevented progression of Mrs. Beardsmore's case regarding child maintenance; what steps he is taking to tackle these difficulties; and what the reason is for the time taken to conclude this case.
	As details about individual cases are confidential I have written to you separately about this case.

Health and Safety Executive: Prosecutions

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the  (a) average and  (b) longest period was between the date of an incident relating to health and safety and the date on which a health and safety prosecution was instituted in (i) magistrates' courts and (ii) Crown Courts in each of the last five years .

Anne McGuire: The table shows, each of the years from 2000-01 to 2004-05, the time in days between the date that the Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) became aware of a health and safety incident and the date on which prosecution was approved and the proceedings were then instituted. The data comefrom cases, instituted by HSE's Field Operations Directorate, which were heard subsequently in magistrates' or Crown courts in each of these years. The range reflects the different circumstances of each case. Some may be relatively simple, whereas others can be very complicated, with complex technical issues, with a number of dutyholders to investigate, and with complex evidential and legal issues to be considered. Necessary and inevitable delays may arise in cases involving deaths, due to the necessity for the police and CPS to investigate and consider possible manslaughter charges, and for an inquest to be arranged and held, before any possible health and safety charges can be taken forward. These delays can be significant.
	
		
			  HSE's Field Operations Directorate: Prosecutions Days from incident/offence to approval/institution 
			   Magistrates courts  Crown courts 
			   Average (median)  Max  Average (median)  Max 
			 2000-01 155 947 244 774 
			 2001-02 190 953 350 1,165 
			 2002-03 204 824 372 1,484 
			 2003-04 216 1,114 402 1,427 
			 2004-05 251 1,118 488 1,971

Health and Safety Executive: Prosecutions

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many defendants in prosecutions brought in each of the last five years by the Health and Safety Executive were  (a) individuals,  (b) corporate bodies and  (c) individuals prosecuted by virtue of being trustees of a charitable body; and whether any of the corporate or unincorporated bodies were charities.

Anne McGuire: HSE brought the following number of charges against  (a) individual persons and  (b) corporate bodies. It is not possible to identify trusteeof charitable bodies or charities, without manually examining each case, which would involve excessive time and cost.
	
		
			   Individuals  Corporate bodies 
			 2000-01 250 836 
			 2001-02 192 890 
			 2002-03 207 769 
			 2003-04 203 734 
			 2004-05 160 531

Industrial Health and Safety: Immigrants

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate the Health and Safety Executive has made of the number of  (a) deaths and  (b) accidents at work involving immigrant workers in the last five years.

Anne McGuire: HSE has not made any estimateof the number of fatalities and accidents at work involving immigrant workers in the last five years. Available data sources do not allow such estimates to be made.
	However, HSE has published the findings of research on the health and safety of migrant workers in England and Wales. This concluded that migrant workers are at no more risk than any other workers doing the same job. However, migrant workers tend to work in higher-risk sectors of the economy, Since the greatest risk factor for an accident at work is the job workers do, migrant workers as a group face disproportionately higher risks. HSE already targets its activity towards those at greatest risk, which will therefore target migrant workers working in high-risk sectors or occupations.
	HSE is committed to securing high standards of health and safety protection for all workers, whether they are recent immigrants or not.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Take-up

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged  (a) 16 to 24,  (b) 25 to 49 and  (c) over 50 years terminated their claim for jobseeker's allowance in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Jobseeker's allowance off-flows in Great Britain by age group; each calendar year 
			   Age 16-24  Age 25-49  Age 50 and over 
			 2001 990,420 1,368,720 372,705 
			 2002 980,385 1,375,615 365,010 
			 2003 972,175 1,313,625 350,025 
			 2004 920,820 1,209,645 330,690 
			 2005 892,635 1,124,530 308,495 
			 2006 980,560 1,164,640 323,100 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five. 2. Figures are for the yearly total off-flows and not individual claimants, as claimants may flow on and off benefit more than once each year. 3. Figures do not include a small number of clerically held claims. 4. The figure for each year is for the total off-flows from January to December.  Source: 100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems.

New Deal Schemes: Females

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women in Coventry have participated in  (a) the new deal for lone parents and  (b) the new deal for partners since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 6 February 2007
	The information on new deal for lone parents is in the following table.
	
		
			  Constituency  New deal for lone parents 
			 Coventry, South 1,060 
			 Coventry, North-east 1,670 
			 Coventry, North-west 1,110 
			 Total 3,840 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are latest available, up to August 2006. 2. Figures for the participation of women on new deal for partners in Coventry are nil or negligible. 3. Figures are rounded to 10.  Source:  Information Directorate, DWP

Pensioners: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners with an income of less than£115 per week in each London borough in each of the last five years.

James Purnell: The information requested is not available.

Pensions

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) men and  (b) women who had previously contracted out contracted back in to S2P/SERPS in each of the last five years.

James Purnell: The information requested is not available. Available information on numbers of men and women contracted out in recent years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Contracted out scheme membership at end of tax year 
			  Thousand 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04 
			 Men 8,030 7,899 7,754 7,236 7,132 
			 Women 5,968 6,044 6,116 5,873 5,933 
			 Total 13,998 13,943 13,869 13,109 13,065 
			  Notes: 1. Numbers include an element of double counting as a person may be a member of more than one type of scheme at any one time—for example an occupational defined benefit scheme and an appropriate personal pension scheme. 2. Figures for 2002-03 and 2003-04 are the latest published figures available and may be subject to changes in future publications of the second tier pension provision. They should be regarded, therefore, as provisional. 3. Figures are produced from the Lifetime Labour Market Database which is based on a 1 per cent sample extract of the National Insurance Recording System 2. They are shown to the nearest thousand and, due to rounding, may not, therefore, add.  Source:  Department for Work and Pensions: 'Second Tier Pension Provision' published January 2006

Pensions: Financial Assistance Scheme

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid into the Financial Assistance Scheme in each year since its inception.

James Purnell: The amount paid into the Financial Assistance Scheme in each year since its inception is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Administrative costs  Payments  Total 
			 2004-05 1.1 0.0 1.1 
			 2005-06 4.7 0.1 4.8 
			 2006-07 to date 3.0 3.1 6.1 
			 Total to date 8.8 3.2 12.0 
		
	
	The administrative costs include one off set up costs which cover opening the operational unit and building the necessary IT systems.

Voluntary Work

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to encourage people claiming jobseeker's allowance and incapacity benefit to undertake voluntary work.

James Plaskitt: We recognise that not only does voluntary work make an invaluable contribution to society and local communities, but it can also help improve an individual's readiness for employment. As long as people continue to satisfy the rules of the benefit, volunteers receiving any benefits can continue to perform their voluntary activity for as many hours as they wish, without affecting their entitlement in any way. Last year we made changes to make it clear that volunteers could be provided with, or expenses for, meals taken away from home while engaged in voluntary work without their benefit being affected.
	Jobseeker's allowance recipients are required to be able to take up employment immediately of up to40 hours per week. However, there is an exception to this rule for people undertaking voluntary work. Volunteers must be willing and able to take up employment with one weeks notice and to attend a job interview within 48 hours. These arrangements allow volunteers to continue to receive benefits while being engaged in voluntary work. Voluntary work is also treated as one of the steps a jobseeker must take to look for work where that improves their chance of securing work.
	Voluntary work will also be appropriate for some claimants of our new employment and support allowance (ESA) and the current rules on voluntary work will be carried forward into both strands of ESA. Voluntary work will count as work-related activity for a customer where it is making it more likely that they will be able to obtain remunerative work in the future.
	Jobseeker's allowance customers on new deal for young people who have not found work by the end of the gateway stage of the programme must enter one of the four mandatory options. One of the four mandatory options available is the voluntary sector option.
	This option offers a combination of job search, high quality work projects and job placements and consists of activities, which deliver benefits to local communities in line with the Government's social policies and objectives.

Winter Fuel Payments

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on making winter fuel payments to pensioners living outside the UK in each year since such payments were introduced, broken down by country of recipients' residence.

James Purnell: Since 2002, following discussions with the European Commission about the effect of Community law, winter fuel payments have been made to eligible former UK residents living elsewhere in the European Economic Area or Switzerland provided they qualified for a winter fuel payment before leaving the UK. Although in some cases payments weremade for years before 2002, a separate breakdown of payments for the earlier years is not available. Information from 2002-03 is in the following table. Figures for winter 2006-07 are not included because the winter fuel payment exercise is still ongoing.
	
		
			  £ 
			  WFPS by country  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Gibraltar 5,000 7,500 11,000 14,300 
			 Republic of Ireland 104,800 230,500 388,300 606,500 
			 Austria 2,600 4,400 7,400 16,300 
			 Belgium 3,200 6,800 11,000 20,500 
			 Denmark 2,400 3,600 5,200 8,450 
			 Finland 1,800 2,100 3,800 5,800 
			 France 283,700 603,500 1,019,600 1,540,950 
			 Germany 14,300 37,200 58,500 97,300 
			 Greece 10,500 26,100 51,300 85,300 
			 Italy 16,200 32,900 75,000 105,800 
			 Luxembourg 600 600 1,600 2,300 
			 Netherlands 4,200 9,900 14,400 26,400 
			 Norway 400 1,500 2,200 4,000 
			 Portugal 16,700 42,500 80,200 119,700 
			 Spain 807,500 1,624,900 2,754,450 3,486,050 
			 Sweden 1,100 4,600 7,000 12,000 
			 Switzerland 1,200 3,400 7,400 15,400 
			 Iceland 0 0 800 900 
			 Liechtenstein 0 0 0 200 
			 Malta 0 0 38,040 69,400 
			 Republic of Estonia 0 0 0 1,400 
			 Republic of Latvia 0 0 200 800 
			 Republic of Lithuania 0 0 0 700 
			 Hungary 0 0 1400 10,300 
			 Poland 0 0 1400 14,200 
			 Cyprus 0 0 188,410 349,000 
			 Republic of Slovenia 0 0 200 400 
			 The Czech Republic 0 0 200 600 
			 The Slovak Republic 0 0 0 400 
			  Notes: 1. The figures for years 2002-03 and 2003-04 include only automated payments. These account for the great majority of payments made. Figures for clerical payments made in these years are not available broken down by country. However clerical payments are included in the figures from 2004-05. 2. Malta, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the European Union and therefore became part of the European Economic Area in May 2004. Winter fuel payments could be paid to eligible former UK residents living in these countries from winter 2004-05. 3. Pensioners living overseas were first paid in winter 2002-03, these payments included any arrears due for earlier winters. It is not possible to give a separate breakdown of these earlier years.

Dental Services

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of dentists in each local health trust area were accepting NHS patients in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: The following information refers only to those dentists registered to provide general dental services (health service dentistry) during each of the three years. Information is not collected on wholly private dentists or privately treated patients in Northern Ireland. Table 1 provides information on the total number of dentists registered each year who have had new health service (HS) patient registrations as at December of each year, as a percentage of the total number of registered HS dentists.
	
		
			  Table 1: percentage of HS dentists( 1,2)  with new health service patient registrations( 3) 
			  Percentage 
			   December 
			  Health and social services trust  2004  2005  2006 
			 Armagh and Dungannon 84.5 86.2 88.5 
			 Causeway 96.0 92.0 88.7 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge 84.7 88.1 85.9 
			 Down and Lisburn 85.5 91.0 82.9 
			 Foyle 84.0 91.5 85.0 
			 Homefirst 80.6 85.9 86.4 
			 Newry and Mourne 92.3 92.3 96.3 
			 North and West Belfast 85.7 84.5 76.6 
			 South and East Belfast 78.5 82.4 79.5 
			 Sperrin Lakeland 94.5 98.2 100.0 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals 81.7 88.2 83.0 
			 1 Includes principal dentists only—excludes assistants and vocational dental practitioners. 2 Dentist numbers taken from the list of all dentists registered to provide health service dentistry during each of the three years. 3 Includes HS dentists with registered health service patients at December who were not registered at January of the same year (i.e. new registrations).  Source: Central Services Agency

Hospital Wards

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many mixed sex wards are in operation within the health service in Northern Ireland; and in which hospitals.

Paul Goggins: The following table shows the number of mixed sex wards that there were in each hospital in Northern Ireland at 22 February 2007.
	
		
			  Mixed sex wards at 22 February 2007 
			  Trust/hospital  Number 
			  Armagh and Dungannon  
			 Mullinure Hospital 0 
			 Longstone 3 
			 St. Luke's 4 
			   
			  Altnagelvin  
			 Altnagelvin Hospital 17 
			 Waterside (Ward 5) 1 
			   
			  Belfast City  
			 Belfast City Hospital 21 
			 Cancer Centre(1) 4 
			 Windsor House 0 
			   
			  Causeway  
			 Causeway (inc Ross Thomson Unit) 2 
			 Dalriada 0 
			 Robinson Hospital 0 
			   
			  Craigavon and Banbridge  
			 Craigavon PNU 4 
			   
			  Craigavon Area  
			 Craigavon Area 12 
			 Lurgan 5 
			 South Tyrone 2 
			   
			  Down Lisburn  
			 Lagan Valley 7 
			 Downe 4 
			   
			  Foyle  
			 Gransha 1 
			 Waterside 7 
			 Stradreagh (now Lakeview) 5 
			   
			  Greenpark  
			 Forster Green Hospital 3 
			 Musgrave Park Hospital 8 
			 Forest Lodge 0 
			   
			  Homefirst  
			 Holywell 8 
			 Whiteabbey PNU 1 
			   
			  Mater  
			 Mater Hospital 1 
			   
			  N and W Belfast  
			 Muckamore Abbey (2)4 
			   
			  Newry and Mourne  
			 Daisy Hill 6 
			   
			  Royal Group  
			 Royal Victoria 31 
			 RBHSC 9 
			   
			  S and E  
			 Knockbracken 6 
			 Young People's Centre 1 
			 Shaftesbury Square 0 
			   
			  Sperrin Lakeland  
			 Tyrone County 2 
			 Erne 0 
			 Tyrone and Fermanagh 4 
			   
			  Ulster Community  
			 Ards 1 
			 Bangor 0 
			 Ulster 21 
			   
			  United Hospitals  
			 Antrim 13 
			 Braid Valley 1 
			 Mid Ulster 4 
			 Moyle 2 
			 Whiteabbey 6 
			 (1) The Cancer Centre which opened in March 2006 replaced Belfast city hospital trust's previous dedicated cancer facility at Belvoir Park. (2) Day space only.  Source: HPSS Trusts 
		
	
	Many trusts stated that where a mixed sex ward was in operation, within such a ward, patients were cared for in single sex bays. Bays would only be mixed sex in exceptional circumstances such as Intensive Care Unit/High Dependency Unit beds or to allow a patient to be admitted to a ward rather than wait on a trolley in accident and emergency. In such cases, patients would then be moved to a suitable bed, in either a single sex bed or single sex bay, as soon as practically possible.

Public Transport: Passengers

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the change in bus and train passenger numbers in Northern Ireland was between January 2006 and January 2007.

David Cairns: The final figures for January 2007 are not yet available. The following data gives the changein bus and train passenger numbers between the12 months ended December 2005 and the 12 months ended December 2006.
	
		
			  Thousand 
			   December 2005  December 2006 
			 Ulsterbus 31,742 31,637 
			 Metro 17,428 18,159 
			 NIR 5,722 6,456 
			 Translink total 54,892 56,252 
			  Source: Translink 
		
	
	Overall, public transport passenger trips have increased by 1.36 million. The rise in Metro bus and NI Railways services has more than offset the slight decline in Ulsterbus.

Recycling

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of household recycling schemes in Northern Ireland; and what recent discussions he has had with local councils on this issue.

David Cairns: The most recent statistics (September 2006) provided by local councils indicate that 27.3 per cent. of household waste in Northern Ireland is recycled. This compares well with the target set out in the Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy published in March 2000 of 25 per cent. recycled by 2005-06 and demonstrates the success of work undertaken to provide recycling facilities, schemes and awareness raising activities.
	Government are committed to driving forward the actions and targets contained in the Strategy and is working in partnership with local councils to deliver them through the recently established Strategic Waste Board which I chair, and also through the Northern Ireland Landfill Allowances Scheme Implementation Steering Group that monitors performance and encourages best practice in recycling.

Self-mutilation: Young People

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in offering assistance to those young people in Northern Ireland thought to be at risk of self harm in the last 12 months.

Paul Goggins: The Suicide Prevention Strategy, "Protect Life-A Shared Vision", was published on30 October 2006, and its primary aim is to reduce the levels of suicide and self-harm in Northern Ireland. Recurrent funding of £1.9 million has been secured for the implementation of the Strategy in financial year 2006-07, and a total of £3 million has been identified for 2007-08 onwards.
	A number of initiatives have been introduced to provide additional support for those people most at risk. These include a mentoring pilot scheme in the Western Health and Social Service board area, and a 24/7 telephone helpline pilot in North and West Belfast. The pilot schemes have a particular focus on people who repeat self-harm and young people in crisis, and they provide for additional targeted peer mentoring and counselling services for those in need.
	A significant proportion of the Strategy's funding has been allocated as part of a community package, which aims to support local communities with the development of initiatives that will help achieve a reduction in the levels of suicide and self-harm.
	In relation to protecting the general population from the dangers of self-harm, a new public awareness campaign encouraging people to talk about their mental health is due to launch shortly, and additional GP depression awareness training is also currently being rolled out.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the implications of the changes to forecastsof the commercial revenues of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority for the future sale of the British Nuclear Group; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Following discussions with the NDA the NDA's budget for 2007-08 has been settled. The NDA and site licence companies (SLC) will be able to maintain current levels of programme spend and the agreed settlement is actually a small increase over levels of programme spend in the current financial year.

Departments: Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which external consultants were used by  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in relation to private finance initiatives in 2005-06; and what the (i) nature and (ii) cost of the work was in each case.

John Healey: HM Treasury employ Partnerships UK to provide advisory and research services in a number of areas related to the private finance initiative (PFI). As published in the 2006 Partnerships UK annual report, the Treasury spent £2.5million under its framework agreement in 2005-06. The National Savings and Investment (NSandI) agency also used consultants on PFI related work in 2005-06. NSandI employed Herbert Smith LLP for legal support on a PFI project, with around £8,000 spent on this in 2005-06.

Departments: Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what dates the Union Flag was flown from the Treasury since 2005.

John Healey: I refer the hon. member to the answer he received from the Minister for Culture 8 January 2007,  Official Report, column 246W. The Union Flag has been raised over 1 Horse Guards Road on the occasions listed in that answer.

Departments: Procurement

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what internal guidance the Treasury issues to staff to assist them in purchasing and procurement decisions; and if he will place a copy of such guidance in the Library.

John Healey: The Treasury's guidance for purchasing, procurement and contract management is hosted on the Treasury intranet. It contains guidance for Treasury staff on how to buy, financial thresholds, legal and regulatory requirements, processes and procedures, contracts and terms and conditions. The guidance is in keeping with the regulatory framework determined by EU regulations and Government Accounting. It is not normal practice for internal control procedures to be published. Guidance to potential suppliers is published on the HM Treasury website http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/About/about_procurement/about_procurement_index.cfm

HM Revenue and Customs

David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many customer reviews are awaiting processing at the large processing offices of HM Revenue and Customs;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the total net tax revenue unpaid as a result of unprocessed HM Revenue and Customs customer reviews.

Dawn Primarolo: Customer reviews are a normal part of the PAYE process. They are needed where either an incorrect amount of tax has been paid or where there are inconsistencies on the record. Such inconsistencies often arise as a result of changes in a taxpayers circumstances such as moving jobs from one employer to another. This means that pay and tax details cannot be matched automatically to the customer's account so a manual review by our operators is required.
	The number of outstanding customer reviews or 'open cases' therefore shifts on a daily basis as returns come in and are processed or identified for review. The Department's management information does not distinguish between a case awaiting processing through their systems and a case requiring a manual review by their operators as a result of an inconsistency.
	Reliable information is not available on net tax unpaid as a result of unprocessed customer reviews.

National Insurance Fund

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the balance of the National Insurance Fund at 31 March 2012; and what percentage of annual benefit expenditure this will represent, taking into account the changes proposed in the Pensions Bill.

James Purnell: I have been asked to reply.
	The latest estimate of the balance of the National Insurance Fund at 31 March 2012, taking into account the changes proposed in the Pensions Bill is £74,124 million. This is projected to be 91.8 per cent. of expenditure made on national insurance benefits in the financial year 2011-12.
	The surplus in the NIF is available to finance general public spending and is invested in Government securities. Any surplus of income over expenditure in the NIF is used to buy gilts. This reduces the Government's need to borrow elsewhere. But itmeans that the surplus is already taken into accountin financing Government spending. Any increase in benefits, which reduced the surplus, would result in increased Government borrowing.
	The Government Actuary's Department will make a full assessment of the impact of the Pensions Bill on the National Insurance Fund in their Quinquennial Review of the National Insurance Fund to be published later this year.

Parents

Lyn Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what percentage of single parents in  (a) England,  (b) London and  (c) West Ham constituency whohave children aged between 11 and 16 years are in employment;
	(2)  what the employment rates are for working mothers  (a) broken down by region, including London, and  (b) in West Ham constituency;
	(3)  how many dual-parent working families there are  (a) broken down by region, including London, and  (b) in West Ham constituency.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 28 February 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about single parents with dependent children aged between 11 and 16 years, the employment rates of women with dependent children and the number of dual-parent families. I am replying in her absence, (122956, 122967, 122968)
	Table 1, based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS), gives the number of lone parents of working age with dependent children aged between 1.1 and 15 years for the United Kingdom, England and London, who- are in employment together with the percentage who are in employment. Sixteen year olds have been excluded as not all 16 year olds are dependent on their parents so they are treated differently in the LFS. It is not possible to give comparable figures for West Ham as the LFS sample sizes are too small.
	Table 2 gives the employment rates for mothers with dependent children (including lone mothers) for the regions of the United Kingdom and the parliamentary constituency of West Ham.
	Table 3 gives the number of dual-parent families for the regions of the United Kingdom, and the parliamentary constituency of West Ham.
	The three tables provided are for the 3 months ending December 2006 and the data are not seasonally adjusted.
	Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. This is particularly true for the parliamentary constituency of West Ham.
	
		
			  Table 1: Lone parents( 1)  of working age( 2)  in employment with dependent children aged between 11 and 15 by selected area, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Three months ending December 2006  Number (000)  Percentage( 3) 
			 United Kingdom 378 68.9 
			 of which:   
			 England 318 69.6 
			 London 52 58.5 
			
			 West Ham (parliamentary constituency) (4)— (4)— 
			 (1) Refers to people who are not married or cohabiting and have youngest dependent children, who are aged 11 to 15. (2) Includes men aged 16 to 64 and women aged 16 to 59. (3) Lone parents in employment as a percentage of all lone parents for those of working age. (4 )Samples sizes are too small to provide reliable estimates.  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS) 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Employment rates( 1)  for women aged 16 to 59 with dependent children( 2)  by Government office region, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Three months ending December 2006  Number (000)  Percentage( 1) 
			 United Kingdom 4,725 67.5 
			 North East 193 67.2 
			 North West 552 68.1 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 395 68.1 
			 East Midlands 355 72.7 
			 West Midlands 413 65.2 
			 Eastern 436 67.7 
			 London 534 55.5 
			 South East 679 71.4 
			 South West 384 72.3 
			 Wales 233 69.7 
			 Scotland 401 71.4 
			 Northern Ireland 151 68.0 
			
			 West Ham (parliamentary constituency) 4 37.7 
			 (1) Women with dependent children in employment as a percentage of all women with dependent children. (2) Defined as youngest dependent children aged 0 to 15 years and 16 to 18 years for those in full-time education.  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS) 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Couples of working age( 1)  in employment with dependent children( 2)  by Government office region, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Three months ending December2006  Number (000) 
			 United Kingdom 6,766 
			  of which:  
			 North East 263 
			 North West 748 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 585 
			 East Midlands 521 
			 West Midlands 605 
			 Eastern 639 
			 London 688 
			 South East 1,008 
			 Southwest 564 
			 Wales 328 
			 Scotland 582 
			 Northern Ireland 235 
			   
			 West Ham (parliamentary constituency) 7 
			 (1)Includes men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59. (2)Youngest dependent children aged 0 to 15, or aged 16 to 18 and in full-time education.  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS)

Burns

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when she expects the National Burn Care review to conclude its resourcing evaluation;
	(2)  whether funding allocated specifically for major burn care services cover the entire running costs of any of the major burn care services in England;
	(3)  whether the adequacy of current tariffs for major burns care services has been considered as part of the National Burn Care review.

Rosie Winterton: The National Burn Care Group (NBCG) has been carrying forward the recommendations of the burn care review. The purpose is to ensure that burn care services move towards care that is seamlessly delivered by a network of specialised, accredited and progressive services. The work is led by the national health service and is due to be completed by April 2011.
	Work on evaluating resource needs is complex because of the variability of demand and because costs are often included with other services such as plastic surgery.
	There is no funding allocated specifically for the running costs of the major burn care services. Funding has been made to the NBCG to fund initiatives that will improve the quality of burn services. Normal running costs are met from funds provided by primary care trusts from their overall allocations.
	Current tariffs for major burns care services have been considered, and continue to be considered as part of an ongoing process involving the burn community, specialist commissioners, and representatives of the NBCG members.

Child Birth

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many births there were in each region of England in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 28 February 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question about how many births there were in each region of England in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. I am replying in her absence. (122642)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2005. The attached table shows numbers of live births in England by Government Office Region for the years 1996 to 2005.
	
		
			  Live births by Government Office Region( 1)  in England 1996 to 2005 
			  Government office region  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 North East 30,101 29,404 28.720 27.739 26,499 25,949 26,271 27,005 27,815 28.249 
			 North West 85,000 82,934 81,179 79.065 76,675 75.201 74,641 77,847 81,164 81,722 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 62,018 60,400 59,683 58,212 55,966 55,625 55,535 57,923 60,193 60,665 
			 East Midlands 49,400 48,518 48,339 47,035 45,787 44,642 45,039 46,916 48,245 49,080 
			 West Midlands 67,508 66,695 65,035 63,466 61,497 60,818 61,035 63,694 65,911 65,956 
			 Eastern 04,564 64,788 64,386 62,685 61,186 60,090 60,171 62,711 64,250 64,687 
			 London 105,411 105,587 105,304 105,545 104,695 104,162 105,603 110,437 113,679 116,019 
			 South East 95,346 95,399 95,642 93,646 90.445 88.510 88,082 91,842 93,634 93.921 
			 South West 54,036 54,477 53,823 52,0.75 50,076 48,747 49,332 51,476 52,293 52,729 
			 Total England 614,164 608,202 602,111 589,468 572,626 563.744 565,709 589,851 607,184 613,029 
			 (1) Births are assigned to Government Office Region according to the usual residence of the mother at the date of the birth, as stated at registration. The table excludes a small number of' live births occurring; in England each year to mothers whose usual residence was outside England arid Wales. Source: Key Population and Vital Statistics, Series VS nos. 23.31 and Birth Statistics, Series FM1 and No.34.

Mental Health Services: Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which mental health trusts have bid for capital funding for  (a) new facilities for child and adolescent mental health services and  (b) to adapt existing facilities; and how many bids for each were successful.

Ivan Lewis: Information is not collected centrally in the format requested. The majority of national health service capital is disbursed by strategic health authorities (SHAs). In 2006-07 a budget of£16 million was retained centrally for use by NHS mental health trusts providing services which are nationally commissioned. From this budget £10 million was allocated towards the construction of a new secure forensic mental health unit for adolescents in Southampton, and the remaining sum was allocated between three trusts for improvements to existing facilities.

Ministerial Visits

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Minister of State for delivery and reform next plans to visit St. Albans in an official capacity.

Andy Burnham: I have no current plans to visitSt. Albans in an official capacity.

Mobile Phones

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has examined on the interference caused by mobile phones to hospital equipment.

Caroline Flint: The Medical Devices Agency (now the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)) conducted an extensive study into the effects of a wide range of mobile communication equipment on 178 different models of medical device in 1997. The results indicated that only 4 per cent. of the medical devices tested suffered interference from mobile phones at a distance of 1 m, with less than0.1 per cent. showing serious effects.
	The results of this study were published in the Device Bulletin "DB 9702 Electromagnetic Compatibility of Medical Devices with Mobile Communications". This advice has been reviewed on a regular basis by the MHRA since 1997.
	A further study on the effects of radio communications equipment on the safe use of medical devices inside ambulances and in the vicinity of emergency vehicles was conducted in 1999 and resulted in the publication of a further Device Bulletin, "DB 1999(02) Emergency Service Radios and Mobile Data Terminal: Compatibility Problems with Medical Devices".
	An update document, SN 2001(06) was published in March 2001, which covered the potential interference with medical devices by TETRA radio systems employed by the emergency services and media broadcasts from hospital premises.
	Most recently, the MHRA published guidance on its website in July 2004, which referenced DB 9702 and DB 1999(02). This guidance advised that health care providers should actively manage the use of radio frequency spectrum on their own sites, and consider the potential effects of communication equipment on all medical devices.

MRSA

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA were recorded in England in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The number of cases of MRSA recorded in England, for each of the last financial years is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  April to March each year  Number of MRSA reports 
			 2001-02 7,291 
			 2002-03 7,426 
			 2003-04 7,698 
			 2004-05 7,233 
			 2005-06 7,095 
			  Note: Data subject to change.  Source: Data published by the Health Protection Agency, 30 January 2007. 
		
	
	There were 3,391 cases of MRSA recorded for the six-month period April to September 2006.

National Patient Safety Agency

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of the National Patient Safety Agency was in each financial year since it was established.

Ivan Lewis: "Building a safer NHS for patients" committed the Department to developing and investing in structures and organisations which would lead to promote patient safety in the national health service. The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) was an important part of to the Department's efforts. It has received the following amounts in Government funding:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2001-02 1,763,000 
			 2002-03 12,120,000 
			 2003-04 17,552,000 
			 2004-05 17,108,000 
			 2005-06 35,154,000 
			 2006-07 32,770,000 
		
	
	The change in funding in 2005-06 is a result of the arms length body review, when the NPSA took on additional responsibilities. These were the National Clinical Assessment Service, the Central Office for Research Ethics Committees, the three national confidential inquiries and aspects of nutrition, cleaning and design.

NHS: Negligence

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2007,  Official Report, column 59W, to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes), on clinical negligence, if she will list the 100 largest claims awarded against her Department under the Clinical Negligence scheme for Trusts; and what the cause of complaint was in each case.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  The 100 largest settled clinical negligence scheme for trusts claims as at 31 December 2006 
			  Settlement date  Cause of the complaint  Total paid (£) 
			 20 January 2005 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 2,800,000 
			 17 June 2005 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 2,845,833 
			 1 May 2003 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 2,880,000 
			 22 September 2003 Failure/delay in diagnosis 2,900,000 
			 9 February 2005 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 2,900,000 
			 14 October 2004 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 2,900,000 
			 24 October 2002 Failure/delay in treatment 2,900,348 
			 23 December 2005 Delay In performing operation 2,907,193 
			 14 August 2003 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 2,963,097 
			 18 November 2004 Failure to monitor first stage labour 3,000,000 
			 1 December 2005 Failure to monitor first stage labour 3,000,000 
			 26 January 2006 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,000,000 
			 14 August 2006 Failure to monitor second stage labour 3,000,000 
			 3 December 2003 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,000,000 
			 14 November 2006 Failure to monitor second stage labour 3,000,000 
			 21 July 2006 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,000,000 
			 14 February 2003 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,000,000 
			 22 September 2006 Intra-operation problems, allergic shock 3,039,000 
			 6 October 2004 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,040,000 
			 1 July 2004 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,070,000 
			 20 May 2005 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,100,000 
			 21 April 2006 Failure to perform tests 3,150,000 
			 14 October 2004 Failure to monitor first stage labour 3,150,000 
			 17 October 2005 Failure to carry out post operation observations. 3,200,000 
			 17 February 2006 Repeated attempts with forcep/ventouse 3,200,000 
			 11 February 2002 Failure to recognise birth complication 3,200,000 
			 13 May 2005 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,200,000 
			 13 January 2004 Inadequate intra-operation monitoring 3,200,000 
			 18 August 2006 Failure to correctly apply forceps 3,250,000 
			 24 February 2003 Failure to monitor first stage labour 3,250,000 
			 13 July 2004 Failure/delay in diagnosis 3,275,000 
			 18 October 2004 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,300,000 
			 25 May 2004 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,300,000 
			 17 May 2004 Improper delegation to junior doctor 3,325,000 
			 9 December 2002 Failure/delay in diagnosis 3,325,000 
			 28 February 2005 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,330,000 
			 21 October 2003 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,343,284 
			 25 April 2003 Operation error 3,350,000 
			 20 July 2005 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,350,000 
			 22 September 2006 Failure/delay in diagnosis 3,400,000 
			 23 December 2002 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,400,000 
			 7 May 2004 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,400,000 
			 28 April 2006 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,400,000 
			 24 May 2002 Failure to carry out post-operative observations. 3,433,018 
			 25 June 2004 Incorrect communication in discharging patient 3,468,650 
			 10 November 2005 Failure/delay in diagnosis 3,500,000 
			 30 May 2006 Operation error 3,500,000 
			 8 November 2005 Delay In performing operation 3,500,000 
			 12 April 2005 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,500,000 
			 19 October 2004 Failure to monitor second stage labour 3,500,000 
			 23 September 2004 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,500,000 
			 2 November 2004 Failure/delay in diagnosis 3,506,385 
			 12 March 2002 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,506,990 
			 9 February 2006 Birth defects 3,514,200 
			 29 March 2006 Failure to monitor second stage labour 3,600,000 
			 30 November 2004 Failure/delay in diagnosis 3,600,000 
			 16 January 2006 Failure/delay in diagnosis 3,636,200 
			 21 March 2002 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,674,960 
			 14 January 2004 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,700,000 
			 31 May 2005 Inappropriate use of forceps/ventouse 3,700,000 
			 28 October 2003 Failure in antenatal screening 3,720,107 
			 2 November 2004 Failure to monitor first stage labour 3,739,174 
			 3 May 2006 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,740,000 
			 14 December 2006 Delay In performing operation 3,750,000 
			 19 December 2006 Inappropriate use of forceps/ventouse 3,800,000 
			 13 February 2004 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,875,000 
			 4 October 2001 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,878,816 
			 22 April 2004 Failure to diagnose pre-eclampsia 3,900,000 
			 23 November 2004 Failure to monitor second stage labour 3,900,000 
			 23 December 2005 Failure/delay in diagnosis 3,960,034 
			 28 March 2006 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 3,988,000 
			 15 June 2005 Failure/delay in treatment 4,000,000 
			 10 November 2005 Failure/delay in diagnosis 4,000,000 
			 22 May 2006 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 4,000,000 
			 17 January 2005 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 4,000,000 
			 14 September 2005 Failure to monitor first stage labour 4,000,000 
			 17 May 2006 Failure/delay in diagnosis 4,109,000 
			 5 May 2005 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 4,139,000 
			 24 September 2004 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 4,250,000 
			 17 February 2006 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 4,300,000 
			 16 November 2006 Failure/delay in treatment 4,358,000 
			 31 October 2006 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 4,400,000 
			 25 March 2002 Failure/delay in diagnosis 4,476,511 
			 15 November 2005 Delay In performing operation 4,500,000 
			 24 February 2004 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 4,500,000 
			 8 December 2006 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 4,620,000 
			 14 March 2005 Failure to monitor first stage labour 4,670,000 
			 24 October 2006 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 4,750,000 
			 14 May 2004 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 4,750,000 
			 19 July 2005 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 4,800,000 
			 14 July 2006 Failure to monitor first stage labour 4,818,000 
			 3 June 2003 Failure/delay in referring to hospital. 5,375,148 
			 30 May 2006 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 5,555,000 
			 12 December 2003 Failure/delay in diagnosis 5,620,290 
			 10 November 2003 Failure/delay in diagnosis 5,749,111 
			 13 December 2005 Failure to respond to birth complications 5,793,782 
			 20 December 2006 Failure in responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate 5,800,000 
			 7 March 2005 Failure/delay in diagnosis 6,248,845 
			 11 May 2006 Failure to monitor second stage labour 6,635,000 
			 20 September 2002 Failure to diagnose pre-eclampsia 12,400,000

Patients Forums

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidelines she has issued on the amountof consultation required between NHS trusts and patients' forums under section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to promote the interaction between NHS trusts and patients' forums in the decision making process.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 26 February 2007
	In February 2003 the Department issued "Strengthening Accountability", policy and practice guidance on section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001. This gives guidance to national health service trusts on how they should undertake to fulfil their role of involving and consulting patients and the public. This document states that trusts should
	"make sure there is a planning process for patient and public involvement that brings together the feedback from the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), patients' forums, overview and scrutiny committees, complaints and the annual patients' survey."
	"Strengthening Accountability" also recommends that trusts
	"involve the patients' forum and local overview and scrutiny committees on priorities for involving and consulting patients and the public."

Sexual Health

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been tested for HIV in Hertfordshire since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The data on the number of HIV tests carried out at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics in Hertfordshire since 1997 is included in the tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: HIV tests made at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics in East and North Hertfordshire primary care trust and West Hertfordshire primary care trust, 1997 to 2002 
			   Number 
			 1997 1,546 
			 1998 2,056 
			 1999 2,174 
			 2000 2,462 
			 2001 2,917 
			 2002 3,644 
			  Source: STI KC60 statutory returns from 1997 to 2002, Health Protection Agency. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: HIV tests made at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics in East and North Hertfordshire primary care trust and West Hertfordshire primary care trust, 2003 to 2005 
			   Number 
			 2003 6,049 
			 2004 7,929 
			 2005 8,177 
			  Source: STI KC60 statutory returns from 1993 to 2005, Health Protection Agency.